FILE PHOTO: Machiko Nakayama, director of the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a Tokyo's suicide hotline center, and a volunteer handle an incoming call at the center during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
TOKYO (Reuters) - The number of suicides in Japan rose in October for the fourth month in a row to the highest level in more than five years, data showed on Tuesday, a trend activists have blamed on the economic impact of the coronavirus, on women in particular.
According to preliminary police data, the total number of suicides for October was 2,153, an increase of more than 300 from the previous month and the highest monthly tally since May 2015.
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