Suicide, Divorce Decline in Japan
More than 24,000 people killed themselves in Japan last year, slightly fewer than the record set in 1983.
The new figures, released over the weekend by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, also showed that the Japanese divorce rate fell for the first time in 20 years.
Suicide accounted for 3.3% of the 742,155 deaths in the country. A total of 24,334 people killed themselves, a drop of 651 from the high recorded in 1983.
A total of 178,758 divorces were recorded in 1984, a drop of 392 from the previous year and the first decrease in the divorce rate since 1964, the ministry said.
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