Japanese Suicide Rates On The Rise

[MA-Caver]

Desperate Japanese head to 'suicide forest'


http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/19/suicide.forrest.japan/index.html?iref=mpstoryviewAOKIGAHARA FOREST, Japan (CNN) -- Aokigahara Forest is known for two things in Japan: breathtaking views of Mount Fuji and suicides. Also called the Sea of Trees, this destination for the desperate is a place where the suicidal disappear, often never to be found in the dense forest.

Japan's Aokigahara Forest is known as the "suicide forest" because people often go there to take their own lives.

Taro, a 46-year-old man fired from his job at an iron manufacturing company, hoped to fade into the blackness. "My will to live disappeared," said Taro. "I'd lost my identity, so I didn't want to live on this earth. That's why I went there."
Taro, who did not want to be identified fully, was swimming in debt and had been evicted from his company apartment. He lost financial control, which he believes to be the foundation of any stable life, he said. "You need money to survive. If you have a girlfriend, you need money. If you want to get married, you need it for your life. Money is always necessary for your life."
<snip>
Japan's suicide rate, already one of the world's highest, has increased with the recent economic downturn.
There were 2,645 suicides recorded in January 2009, a 15 percent increase from the 2,305 for January 2008, according to the Japanese government.
The Japanese government said suicide rates are a priority and pledged to cut the number of suicides by more than 20 percent by 2016. It plans to improve suicide awareness in schools and workplaces. But officials fear the toll will rise with unemployment and bankruptcies, matching suicide spikes in earlier tough economic times.
"Unemployment is leading to this," said Toyoki Yoshida, a suicide and credit counselor.

What I find sad is that a culture that used to worship art, nature and simple living have gone to a materialistic monetary mindset that the thought of being without money is unbearable.
Yet one wonders when this suicidal mind set starts to spread across the oceans. As our own economy worsens will folks start seeing this as a solution?

 

[Bill Mattocks]

"The Post War Dream" by Pink Floyd

tell me true tell me why was Jesus crucified
is it for this that daddy died?
was it for you? was it me?
did i watch too much t.v.?
is that a hint of accusation in your eyes?
if it wasn't for the nips
being so good at building ships
the yards would still be open on the clyde
and it can't be much fun for them
beneath the rising sun
with all their kids committing suicide
what have we done maggie what have we done
what have we done to england
should we shout should we scream
"what happened to the post war dream?"
oh maggie maggie what have we done?

 

[seasoned]

Pride has taken a lot of people or entities down. If it crosses the oceans, it is because we, as a people, stopped believing in ourselves.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

What I find sad is that a culture that used to worship art, nature and simple living have gone to a materialistic monetary mindset that the thought of being without money is unbearable.
Yet one wonders when this suicidal mind set starts to spread across the oceans. As our own economy worsens will folks start seeing this as a solution?

We did during the LAST Depression.

 

[Ninjamom]

The 'bushido' image of the samurai is still visible in a culture that sees suicide as an honorable option. Most Japanese insurance policies still pay full rate for suicides (something not the case anymore in the US), so financially-strapped Japanese men sometimes see suicide as an honorable way of making sure their families are provided for. To stop the swell of suicides in Japan, this aspect of the culture must first be countered.


For those who are really interested, Japanese society has several other pressing issues right now - there are over one million each 'needers', 'greeders', and shut-ins locked in the country. 'Needers' (No Employment or EDucation) are 'lost' youth with no hope or prospects for the future, living at home off Mom and Dad well into their thirties. 'Greeders' have some basic subsistence job that supports their hobbies while they still live at home and sponge off their 'rents, well into their thirties. 'Shut-ins' will barricade themselves into a single closed room in their home and refuse to come out for years.

A lack of hope or sense of purpose is devastating, whether among materialistic working-age adults, or among the up-and-coming younger generation. To deal with the suicide problem in Japan, this aspect of the modern culture must be addressed as well.

 

[Omar B]

It reminds me of Dr Shatterhand/Blofeld's "Garden Of Death" from Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice. Yet another example of how superior the Bond books are to the movies. But yeah, the suicides are sad but Flem worked it into a great novel.