Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Deaths in Japan fell in 2020 despite the spread of coronavirus, data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed.

From January to October last year, total deaths in Japan dropped to 1,120,386 from 1,133,864 in the same period last year, a fall of 13,479. To date, deaths from COVID-19 disease have reached 8,587 deaths. By comparison, suicides in the January-October period in 2020 accounted for 16,613 lives lost.. 

Although the annual number of deaths in Japan had been increasing against the backdrop of the country’s graying population, in 2020, the number of deaths decreased 9,373, or 0.7 percent, from the previous year to total 1,384,544, down for the first time in 11 years, according to the health ministry data. The decrease may be linked to a sharp fall in seasonal influenza infections as people were keen to take infection prevention measures.

Figures for 2020 released by the Health Ministry showed breathing-related deaths included influenza (941), acute bronchitis (197) and asthma (973).

Other respiratory diseases and certain infectious and parasitic diseases in the same period caused the death of 142,029 people, including pneumonia (64,965) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (13,306), 

Other fatal illnesses (53,375) showed deaths caused by unexpected accidents (30,330), traffic accidents (2,970), falls (7,711), accidental drowning and submersion (5,518), accidental threats to breathing (6,240), exposure to smoke, fire and flame (692), accidental poisoning and exposure to harmful substances (380), other accidents (6,819), homicide (210), other external causes (6,222).

In 2019, Japan’s population dropped by 505,000, the 11th year of decline and the largest drop ever.