I feel like theme of suicide as the "easy way out" was already somewhat expressed in P3. Then again, that was more about dealing with death, where as this could be more about dealing with stress, grind, and the feeling of a worthless existence. What I heard from my friends who grew up in japan is that there is a very strong cultural idea that once you leave high school, everything becomes one massive grind, more so than how Americans view it. There's very little movement between companies, so you're often locked into the first place you work for a very long time.
Hashino's games have all lightly touched upon topical psychological issues in Japan. P3 was clearly about the high suicide rate in japan and the feeling of hopelessness that leads to suicide. P4 was about dealing with people who cover up the truth from society, which while not specific to Japan, has a very large presence in japanese society. (If you've ever seen Freakonomics, they talk about this in depth, in the section about Sumo Wrestlers cheating). Catherine was definitely a reference to the declining marital and birth rates in japan (and other affluent societies), where men are becoming less dominant and more indecisive.
I'm not saying these games were breathtaking exposés on pressing issues, but rather that Hashino's team takes themes from what's actually affecting people at the time.
