It has been speculated that celebrity suicide reports may have contributed to the increase in the number of suicides in Japan reported in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although there has been some progress in Japan regarding the understanding of the mechanisms and countermeasures related to media reports for suicide prevention in recent years, efforts are insufficient. Herein, we examine the relationship between celebrity suicide reports and the increase in the number of suicides due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We also review research findings on the relationship between celebrity suicides and media coverage and propose possible countermeasures.
 We examined articles reporting celebrity suicides (number of articles, comments, and evaluations) on the Internet; the time series of the number of suicides by month in 2020; and studies that independently suggested that celebrity suicide reports had an impact on the number of suicides in 2020. We used a suicide contagion model that suicides caused by media coverage of celebrity suicides are an imitation of suicidal behavior because of social learning from the media rather than a cluster of suicide phenomena.
 Considering media measures for suicide prevention from the contagion model, we propose that, in the context of a society where information diffusion is strong and people are easily isolated, appropriate media coverage based on guidelines can be used as a 'mask', and learning of correct knowledge about suicide prevention, such as how to overcome suicide risks when individuals are at risk, can be regarded as a 'vaccine'. Both of these suicide prevention measures for media should be promoted in the Covid-19 era. Our findings suggest that in clinical practice, we should ask patients who are at mild risk of suicide about the influence of media reports of celebrity suicides.
 Author's abstract