Japan sees self-harm cases rise for seventh consecutive year — The Japan Times
In Japan, the number of people urgently transported to hospitals after self-harm or a suicide attempt rose for the seventh consecutive year in 2025, reaching 43,631. On average, 120 people per day were taken to hospitals after such incidents, compared with 116 people in 2024.
The data were released by the Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center, which is affiliated with the government. The report used statistics from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, The Japan Times reports.
Increase among young people
According to the latest available demographic data for 2024, the number of emergency hospital transports following self-harm declined among people over 40 but continued to rise among those under 40. The highest rates were recorded among young women.
Among women aged 20 to 39, the rate of such emergency hospital transports reached 101.7 per 100,000 population in 2024. This was nearly three times higher than among men in the same age group, whose rate was 38.2. Among people under 20, the number of cases among girls also significantly exceeded that among boys.
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Differences by age and sex
At the same time, the suicide mortality rate among men aged 20 and older was more than twice as high as among women. The center also noted that the number of self-harm cases among girls under 20 continues to rise.
More severe conditions after self-harm were recorded more often among older people. During the initial medical assessment, more than 80% of cases among people under 40 were considered mild or moderate, compared with around 70% among those aged 40 to 59 and slightly more than 50% among people aged 60 and older.
A registry of self-harm and suicide attempts, established jointly by the center and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, recorded 9,168 such cases from the beginning of December 2022 through the end of 2025. About two-thirds of the registered cases involved women, and nearly half of them concerned people under 30.
