I began by asking Annesley why March historically sees such a high number of suicides in Japan. “In Japan, March comes right before the start of the new fiscal and academic year. Anxiety and fear peaks as people worry about starting a new job or going back to school after spring vacation. This can be overwhelming for people and cause them to think about suicide.”
He added that foreigners in Japan are especially at risk given the “lack of immediate family support, fewer social networks and little in terms of support services available in their native language.”