With the nation's annual suicide toll exceeding 30,000, the government is considering ways to combat the runaway malaise by focusing on preventing and treating depression.

A panel of experts affiliated with the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry agreed this week on measures to counter depression in a bid to stem a tide of suicides committed by middle-aged and elderly people.

The steps mainly emphasize boosting public awareness of depression and the factors that lead to it, resulting in so many suicides.

With early detection and counseling as its goal, the panel hopes to enhance expertise among doctors, and to increase contact among psychiatrists and personal or corporate physicians.

Other measures include strengthening the support structure at the community level and encouraging firms to establish guidelines promoting mental health.

The panel also wants companies to assist employees trying to get back to work after an absence due to psychological problems and make counseling services available outside the workplace to better protect workers' privacy.

The health ministry said the suicide rate began to increase rapidly starting in 1997. According to the National Police Agency, the number topped 30,000 for four straight years through 2001, and suicides by middle-aged and elderly men are on the rise.

Experts and government officials believe various factors are behind the rise in suicides, including depression due to job loss and uncertainty about employment.

Not only do people who have lost jobs face depression but also those who fear they will be sacked next.

A worker whose colleagues have been axed may also face suicide-level depression over having to assume a greater workload, they said.