JNN 18.10.10 Japan has announced that increased depression and suicide among its citizens cost the Japanese government $32 billion last year.

Unemployment and financial hardship pertaining to health care expenses were cited as the main reasons behind the spike in suicide, according to a report by Deutsche Welle.

And 2009 was the twelfth year in a row that more than 32,000 people committed suicide.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says the high number of bankruptcies is one of the major causes of the high suicide rate.

In response to the crisis, the Japanese government formed an emergency task force on September 3 to educate and inform the public about the realities of suicide.

Analysts believe that the Japanese perception on depression is the main cause of the high number of suicides in the East Asian nation.