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Japan disaster victims face mental health risks

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-10 15:33

TOKYO - Japan's government says survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami need long-term mental health care to protect them from debilitating conditions that could lead to suicide.

The government says in an annual policy paper on suicide prevention that survivors may be undergoing shock, stress and depression from the overwhelming losses. They may also feel guilty for escaping death.

More than 23,000 are dead or missing, and entire towns along Japan's northeast coast were washed away.

Japan already has one of the highest suicide rates in the industrialized world, with nearly 25 suicides per 100,000 people. That compares to about 11 per 100,000 in the United States.