[Suicide prevention strategies around the world and in Japan]

"Prevention of suicide: Guidelines for the formulation and implementation of national strategies" was published by the United Nations and the World Health Organization in 1996. It emphasizes the importance of each country developing suicide prevention strategies in accordance with its own socio-cultural characteristics. Finland is known as one of the countries that successfully reduced its suicide rate. The medical model, which detects mental disorders at an early stage and starts appropriate psychiatric treatments, should be closely integrated with the community model, which educates the general public with accurate information on mental disorders and suicide prevention. Suicide prevention strategies should be conducted on a long-term basis. The author describes some considerations on current suicide prevention activities in Japan, and compares them against UN/WHO guidelines and national activities in Finland.