Amid the pandemic, the number of suicides has grown for the first time in the past decade in Japan, AFP reported.

The Ministry of Health and Social Security of Japan announced that, based on preliminary data, 20,919 people committed suicide in 2020, a number that is 3.7% higher than the number recorded last year.

This is the first annual growth in the past ten years. Moreover, there are more women and children who have committed suicide.

Unlike other countries, the situation is good amid the first wave of the coronavirus in Japan, and this has allowed the country to avoid coarse methods for isolation, but the number of infections rose in July after state of emergency was declared in March. Experts say practice has shown that the number of suicides drops in the first stage of crises such as conflicts and natural disasters and then sharply rises.