3  4  Chart 3 Unemployment Rate and Suicides 40,000  persons  %  35,000  6 5  30,000 4  25,000 20,000  3  15,000  2  10,000 1  5,000 0  0 1980 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 Number of suicides  Unemployment rate (right scale)  Sources: National Police Agency, "Suicide Statistics"; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Labour Force Survey."
Slight Increase in the Birth Rate I think that a small improvement in the birth rate also has been achieved. Chart 4 shows the unemployment rate, the marriage rate, and the birth rate for the population of 20- to 39-year-olds. It is a well-known fact that the marriage rate and the birth rate are correlated, as is more or less evident from the chart.