A group of scholars have compiled a White Paper derived from Japan's National Police Agency data on the state of suicide in Japan. The White Paper highlights risk factors that contribute to Japan's high number of suicides and considers causes and motives for suicide as well as the job status of victims, classified by the number of suicides in each category.Data on 97,032 suicides recorded between 2004 and 2006 by local area police stations in Japan was analyzed. The data showed:

• the top motive for suicide among people who left suicide notes when they took their lives was financial or living problems. 
• the next two reasons were suffering from illness and family problems. 
• by job status the highest number of suicides occurred among the unemployed, followed by employed people, and then the self-employed.

By police station:

• Fujiyoshida Police Station in Yamanashi Prefecture handled the most suicides. 
• Next was Sawara Police Station in Fukuoka Prefecture, and Aomori Police Station in Aomori Prefecture.
• Toyota Police Station in Aichi Prefecture, which was placed sixth on the list of the number of suicides handled, recorded the highest number of suicides among employed people. 
• Asahikawa Higashi Police Station in Hokkaido, which was 17th in the number of suicides handled, ranked first when it came to suicides due to suffering from illness.

By administrative district:

• Tokyo's Chiyoda-ku had the most suicides of employed men in their 40s
• Osaka's Nishi-ku recorded the highest number of suicides of self-employed men in their 40s
• Koshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture recorded the highest number of suicides of unemployed men in their 40s

Officials from cities, towns and villages say that they are unable to take concrete measures against suicide because they don't know the actual conditions surrounding suicide. Members compiling the survey examined 68 suicide risk factors. They found that on average victims were exposed to four risk factors; only 4 percent were found to have committed suicide due to one risk factor.These 10 factors covered about 70 percent of all suicides:

1. depression (the most common risk factor
2. family discord
3. debt
4. physical ailments
5. hardships of life
6. relationships at work
7. changes in working environment
8. loss of job
9. poor business
10. overwork

The risk factors were often tied together. A company employee's job transfer, for example, could lead to overwork and trouble in relationships with others at work, which in turn could lead to depression. In the case of business executives, poor business would lead to lifestyle hardships, which would lead to multiple debts and then depression.There were also other linked factors where the causal relationship remained unclear, such as bullying and loss of job, and the death of family members and alcohol problems.The government allocated $220 million for suicide prevention in 2007, including counseling and screening of Web sites hoping to cut the suicide rate by 20 percent by 2010.Major suicide counseling services:Inochi no denwa (Life Line):

• Hokkaido 011.231.4343
• Tokyo 03.3264.4343
• Aichi 052.971.4343
• Osaka 06.6309.1121
• Fukuoka 092.741.4343

Suicide Prevention Center:

• Tokyo 03.5286.9090
• Osaka 06.4395.4343

Tokyo Suicide Prevention Center is 8:00 pm to 6:00 am, 24 hours otherwise. Inochi denwa homepage (in Japanese in English.View the source articles here and here.The government allocated $220 million for suicide prevention, including counseling and screening of Web sites hoping to cut the suicide rate by 20 percent by 2010.