Japan

Crying once a week is the secret to a stress-free life

Wakana Kumagai, 7, and her mother Yoshiko cry as they visit the spot where their house, which was washed away by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, used to stand in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture March 11, 2012, to mark the first anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. Kumagai's father Kazuyuki called his wife Yoshiko just after the March 11, 2011 earthquake to tell her to take the children to Omagari elementary school which was serving as a shelter. He was found near the shelter four days after the tsunami, Yoshiko said.   REUTERS/Toru Hanai (JAPAN - Tags: ANNIVERSARY DISASTER) - GM1E83B19S901

Japan is actively encouraging its schoolchildren and workforce to reap the mental health benefits that shedding tears bring. Image: REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Kate Whiting
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
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 Most people in Japan never see mental health professionals
Image: Ipsos/Statista
The suicide rate in Japan is decreasing
Image: National Police Agency (Japan)/Statista
 Tears flush out stress hormones
Image: StockSnap/Milada Vigerova
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JapanMental HealthBehavioural Sciences
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