Economic Analysis on Business Cycles and Suicide Rate - An Approach from Corporate Behavior -

Japan has seen a sharp rise in the suicide rate since 1998, which has since been a major social problem. In addition, the number of those suffering mental disorders has been increasing in recent years. The paper argues that there exists economic rationality for corporations to motivate or force workers to resign and to raise the stress level at the workplace, when the consensus on the labor standards is altered drastically in response to the changing economic environment. The author believes that the increase in the number of workers exposed to largeer stresses after the two-stage layoffs is a major factor for the increase of suicides following the currency/financial crisis.