消失的 20,919人
Underneath the economic and healthcare crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people taking their own lives in Japan rose for the first time in over a decade last year.
隨著新冠疫情造成經濟與公共衛生危機，去年日本自殺率逾十年來首度上升。
underneath(prep.)在…底下；在…下面
According to data released by Japan’s health ministry, 20,919 people killed themselves in 2020.
根據日本厚生省公布的數據，2020年有20,919人自殺過世。
In comparison, 3,460 people died from the coronavirus disease over the same period.
相較之下，同一時期，有3,460人因染上新冠肺炎喪生。
in comparison 與～相比comparison(n.)比較、對比
Last year’s suicide rates went up by 3.7% from the previous year, marking the first year-on-year rise in suicides in 11 years.
去年的自殺率相較於前年增加了3.7％，為11年以來首度增長。
suicide rates自殺率
While there had been a slight decrease in suicides among men, nearly 15% more suicides were recorded among women.
雖然男性的自殺率微幅下降，但女性的自殺率卻提高了近15％。
while(conj.)雖然=though
Why does the pandemic seem to be affecting women more than men?
為什麼疫情對女性的影響似乎比男性嚴重呢？
affect(v.)影響
For women suffering physical or sexual abuse, Covid has only exacerbated the situation, and many have sought relief in death.
對遭受身體虐待或性侵的女性來說，疫情只會讓情況變得更糟糕，於是許多人自殺尋求解脫。
suffer(v.)受苦;受折磨;遭受suffer from cancer罹患癌症suffer from asthma患有氣喘abuse(n.)(v.)虐待、傷害、濫用physical abuse身體虐待verbal abuse言語暴力sexual abuse性虐、性侵drug abuse濫用毒品alcohol abuse酗酒exacerbate(v.)使惡化、使加重、使加劇=worsenseek-sought-sought尋求relief(n.)(不快過後的)寬慰;寬心;輕鬆;解脫
Jun Tachibana, founder of the Bond Project, a suicide prevention charity, says that a girl she knows is getting sexually harassed by her father, who is not working so much and is at home a lot during the pandemic, “so there is no escape from him.”
自殺防治機構「邦德計畫」（Bond Project）的創辦人立花淳說，她認識一位被父親性騷擾的女孩，因為疫情的關係，父親不怎麼工作，所以經常在家，「她無法逃離他」。
suicide prevention自殺防治charity(n.)慈善機構harass(v.)harassment(n.)騷擾sexual harassment性騷擾there is no N. (Ving)…=it is impossible to RV...
Furthermore, more female workers lost their jobs as the pandemic hit industries that employ a lot of women.
此外，疫情衝擊了雇用大量婦女的產業，
furthermore=moreover此外employ(v.)雇用
Women in so-called “precarious employment,” namely those who work on temporary contracts, especially if they are single and live alone, tend to be hit hard in times of economic instability.
所謂「不穩定就業」，亦即從事派遣工作的女性，特別是單身和獨居者，往往會在經濟不穩定的時期受到極大的衝擊。
precarious(adj.)危險的、不牢靠的、(情勢)不穩定的=unstablea precarious ladder 不牢靠的階梯employment(n.)受僱;就業namely(adv.)亦即;也就是說=that is (to say)tend to RV往往會、有…的傾向stable(adj.)穩定的unstable(adj.)不穩定的stability(n.)穩定instability(n.)不穩定
Meanwhile, another phenomenon was also adding to the problem in Japan.
同時，日本自殺問題還有另一個現象。
phenomenon(n.)(社會或自然)現象(單數型)phenomena(n.)(複數型)現象a geological phenomenon地質學的現象
Experts agree that there is a strong correlation between celebrity suicides and an immediate rise in suicides in the days following.
專家認為，名人自殺與隨後幾天自殺率立即上升有非常密切的聯繫。
correlation(n.)相互關係、聯繫、相關=connection=association=link=relation
On September 27 last year, a renowned Japanese actress named Yuko Takeuchi (40) took her own life. The following month, 879 women killed themselves—70% higher than the same month in 2019, while suicide rates more than doubled for women around the same age group as the actress.
去年9月27日，日本知名女演員竹內結子（40歲）自殺，接下來那個月有879位女性自殺，比2019年同月高了70％，而與竹內結子年紀相仿的女性自殺率則翻了一倍多，
This phenomenon is not unique to Japan, and it is one of the reasons that make reporting on suicide so difficult.
且這種現象並非日本獨有，也是使得報導自殺新聞格外不易的原因之一。
If suicide rates are increasing in Japan, where there are no strict lockdowns and relatively few coronavirus deaths, it begs the question: What is happening in other countries where the pandemic is much worse?
如果連並未實施嚴格封鎖，且因染疫去世的人數相對較少的日本自殺率都在上升，那麼不禁令人想：在疫情更嚴重的國家，又是什麼情況呢？
beg the question 不禁讓人想⋯⋯、不禁令人提出疑問