43rd Breakfast Meeting -Dr. Rene Duignan, the director of the film “Saving 10,000: Winning a War on Suicide in Japan”-
date : 4/12/2013
Number of suicides in Japan in 2012 was reduced to 27,766 people by approximately 10% compared to the previous year 30,651 people.
However the suicide rate in Japan is still high, where it is twice the rate in U.S., and twelve times higher than in the Philippines. The director of this film, Dr. Rene Duignan, works as an economist for the European Union in the Tokyo Delegation, and he had been living in Japan as a Japanophile for more than ten years. In his study about healthcare system in Japan medicine, he was motivated to act on the high suicide rate in Japan. With that, he spent three years to document a film featuring the interviews of 95 people, taking one year for each in interviews, shooting and editing. The film had drawn a variety of problems surrounding suicide, which including the problem of consumer finance, life insurance, economic loss brought by suicide, addictions, and mental health issues. It also recorded issues where people seldom speak about, and introduced the various on-going suicide prevention efforts. The film concluded with ten take home messages, where Dr. Rene urges the audience to seriously consider the issue of suicide through broad and different angles. (medium: Japanese)
■Theme
Meeting Dr. Rene Duignan, the director of the film “Saving 10,000: Winning a War on Suicide in Japan”
■Speaker
Dr. Rene Duignan
He was born in Ireland in 1971, and graduated from University of Dublin. He came to Japan in 1997, and gained his PhD in International business with Aoyama Gakuin University. He had been working as a lecturer in Aoyama Gakuin University for the courses in Global Business, European Economy etc. He was also a teaching fellow in Temple University, where he taught healthcare system. After working with Tokyo Office of Banca d’Italia, he is now working as an economist for the European Union in the Tokyo Delegation since 2011, dealing with the economic problems of Europe and Japan.
The documentary film “Saving 10,000: Winning a War on Suicide in Japan” is accessible at this website. http://www.saving10000.com/
■Date and Time
April 11, 2013
8:00am-9:00am
■Venue
GARB Marunouchi (2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
However the suicide rate in Japan is still high, where it is twice the rate in U.S., and twelve times higher than in the Philippines. The director of this film, Dr. Rene Duignan, works as an economist for the European Union in the Tokyo Delegation, and he had been living in Japan as a Japanophile for more than ten years. In his study about healthcare system in Japan medicine, he was motivated to act on the high suicide rate in Japan. With that, he spent three years to document a film featuring the interviews of 95 people, taking one year for each in interviews, shooting and editing. The film had drawn a variety of problems surrounding suicide, which including the problem of consumer finance, life insurance, economic loss brought by suicide, addictions, and mental health issues. It also recorded issues where people seldom speak about, and introduced the various on-going suicide prevention efforts. The film concluded with ten take home messages, where Dr. Rene urges the audience to seriously consider the issue of suicide through broad and different angles. (medium: Japanese)
■Theme
Meeting Dr. Rene Duignan, the director of the film “Saving 10,000: Winning a War on Suicide in Japan”
■Speaker
Dr. Rene Duignan
He was born in Ireland in 1971, and graduated from University of Dublin. He came to Japan in 1997, and gained his PhD in International business with Aoyama Gakuin University. He had been working as a lecturer in Aoyama Gakuin University for the courses in Global Business, European Economy etc. He was also a teaching fellow in Temple University, where he taught healthcare system. After working with Tokyo Office of Banca d’Italia, he is now working as an economist for the European Union in the Tokyo Delegation since 2011, dealing with the economic problems of Europe and Japan.
The documentary film “Saving 10,000: Winning a War on Suicide in Japan” is accessible at this website. http://www.saving10000.com/
■Date and Time
April 11, 2013
8:00am-9:00am
■Venue
GARB Marunouchi (2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
Exhibition date:2013-04-11
Top Research & Recommendations Posts
- [Policy Recommendations] Joint Statement “Protecting the Health of Both the Planet and People — A Japan-Model Planetary Health Strategy to Turn the Climate Crisis into an Opportunity for Health, the Economy, and Growth” (June 24, 2026)
- [Research Report] Energy Conservation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction in Healthcare Facilities: Case Studies from New Construction and Facility Renewal (March 16, 2026)
- [Activity Report] HGPI Contributed to the Development of the Civil 7 (C7) Global Health Working Group’s Climate and Health Thematic Brief for the G7 (June 25, 2026)
- [Research Report] AMR Policy Update #6: The New Global Action Plan on AMR (Part 1)
- [Recommendations] Strengthening Epidemiology Education in the Veterinary Field for the One Health Era (June 19, 2026)
- [Policy Recommendations] Developing a National Health and Climate Strategy for Japan (June 26, 2024)
- [Research Report] AMR Policy Update #8: Fostering AMR-Conscious Youth: The Antibiotic Smart Sweden Certificate Program and its Implications for Early Childhood Education (July 1, 2026)
- [Announcement] HGPI Joins the UHC2030 Task Force for the 2027 UN High-Level Meeting on UHC (July 6, 2026)
- [Research Report] AMR Policy Update #7: The New Global Action Plan on AMR (Part 2)
- [Research Report] Perceptions, Knowledge, Actions and Perspectives of Healthcare Organizations in Japan in Relation to Climate Change and Health: A Cross-Sectional Study (November 13, 2025)
Featured Posts
-
2026-06-19
[Recommendations] Strengthening Epidemiology Education in the Veterinary Field for the One Health Era (June 19, 2026)
-
2026-07-02
[Research Report] Medical Practitioner Interviews on the Current State and Issues for Interdepartmental Collaboration in Clinical Practice for Chronic Kidney Disease (June 30, 2026)
-
2026-07-21
[Announcement] Announcement of the 2nd Kiyoshi Kurokawa Award Recipient
-
2026-07-22
[Registration Open] Second Session of the Planetary Health Academy (Starts September 2026)



