Local Community Support

Established as a consultation and support service for people in charge of suicide countermeasures in local governments across Japan

In May 2020, the Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center (JSCP) opened the Concierge for Local Government Supporters (Concierge) as a consultation and support service for Local Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Centers (Local Centers) nationwide, as well as for officials in charge of suicide countermeasures in prefectures, designated cities, and municipalities.

Support system: A concierge for each region

In order to work closely and collaboratively with Local Centers and municipalities across the country, JSCP has assigned two Concierges, one main and one deputy, to each regional block* in the country.
*Five blocks: Hokkaido/Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu/Hokuriku, Kinki/Chugoku, Shikoku/Kyushu/Okinawa.

A contact point where officials can freely discuss their concerns

Both local government officials and those in charge of Local Centers face a variety of challenges. The consultations vary from general enquiries and requests to appoint committee members, to more practical concerns like maintaining effective lines of communication throughout organizations and using the analytical tools and materials provided by JSCP. There are also enquiries from newly appointed staff looking to build knowledge and understanding of suicide-related issues.
JSCP aims to help promote countermeasures without any disparities between the regions of Japan, enabling staff to freely ask for advice on a range of issues.

Future prospects

1) Providing more effective support to local governments, leading to policy proposals

Through consultations and other services provided by the Concierge, JSCP will support the countermeasure efforts of Local Centers and local governments. In addition to this, by identifying the issues and on-the-ground responses to implemented measures, we will create training and awareness-raising tools for local governments, as well as help formulate policy.

2) Consultations and nationally-collected information to be published as FAQs

By sharing Concierge consultations and the information and results from Local Centers across the country, we hope to help further build our skill in providing support to local governments. We aim also to prepare a collection of FAQs (with information identifying specific local governments removed), and post them on the JSCP website so that local government officials can refer to them as needed.

3) Strengthening the support capacity of Local Centers

Through the above-mentioned efforts we will support Local Centers, which are area managers within their respective jurisdictions, so that they can operate fully, with the ultimate goal of promoting and strengthening suicide countermeasures in local municipalities.