If it is busy in the suicide prevention centers, many Japanese never seek help or show that they have problems. That is also traditional: there is a social taboo on showing weakness. Despair therefore usually remains hidden, also from other family members. The loss of a job, career and income is therefore seen as a shame. That was no different in the years after the financial crisis of 2008, when it was mainly a lot of dismissed “salary men” who could not live with this.
Aid workers fear that with the prospect of a dark winter the situation will not improve any time soon. They are therefore asking for a mentality change in Japan so that people would no longer be afraid to ask for help if they still can.
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