Facebook is joining efforts to reduce Japan’s high suicide rate, creating a way for those in despair to be noticed and given a sympathetic ear.

On Wednesday the social network provider created a tool that lets users sound an alarm on posts that appear to show the writer is at the end of their tether.

Facebook users in some markets have been able to do this since 2011, but only now is it being made available in Japan.

A reader of a post who suspects self-harm is imminent can press a V-shaped symbol on the upper right-hand corner to report their concern, then click on another button to help the friend.

The user is then invited to try to change the person’s mind. Options include sending a direct message, consulting another Facebook friend or reading advice from experts on what to do.

The writer of a post that has been reported will see a special page telling them that someone is caring about them the next time they log in.

They are referred to websites of support groups and given a phone number to call. They are also invited to send a message to a close Facebook friend to talk about their situation.

Facebook has worked on suicide prevention since 2011. It recognizes that one of the best ways to get someone to change their mind is to hear from someone close to them, Kumiko Hidaka, Facebook’s spokeswoman in Japan said by email on Thursday.

“Thanks to this update, Facebook can offer more generous support to help people who post a message suggesting bad physical and mental conditions,” Hidaka said.

The service runs in cooperation with suicide hotline group Federation of Inochi No Denwa Inc., whose name roughly translates to Call of Life, and nonprofit organization Befrienders International Suicide Prevention Center Tokyo.

Although the figures are falling, suicide among young people remains a serious problem in Japan.

The National Police Agency says there was a total of 24,025 deaths from suicide in 2015, a decline for six consecutive years. But the percentage of suicides by people aged 19 or younger and elderly of 70 and older surged back to 2007 levels, the year after a basic law to try to prevent suicides was enacted.

Suicide was the most common cause of death among people aged 15 to 39 in 2014. In the same year, suicide accounted for about half of all deaths among those aged 20 to 29.

Revisions to the suicide prevention law were enacted in April. This obliges municipalities to draft concrete plans to address the issue and help universities better teach future health professionals about suicide prevention.

Facebook’s engagement with suicide prevention is “extremely important,” Yasuyuki Shimizu, head of suicide prevention nonprofit organization Lifelink, said Thursday.

The social networking service is popular among young people.

“People who consider committing suicide are not always determined to do so. If they learn about available support, I believe some of them would change their minds,” Shimizu said.

“The advantage of SNS could be its ability to directly reach people who really need help,” he said. “But, of course, there is no silver bullet to prevent suicide.”