The Struggle to Prevent Another 34,000 Deaths.

(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))

Byline: Matsunaga Tsutomu

"What do you think happens to people when they die?" A doctor specializing in pediatric neuropsychiatry recently carried out a survey that put the question to elementary and middle school students across the nation. It was an exceptional question, probing young Japanese views of life and death. Twenty percent responded "they come back to life" or "people could return from the dead."

Suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high students have increased as much as 11.4% in a single year. The doctor concludes that these young people think life is like a video game where you can push a "reset" button.

Japanese adults' views on life and death are also fragile. In 2003 a record 34,000 committed suicide. There has been a rapid rise in cases of suicide motivated by "economic and livelihood issues," especially among men in their 40s and 50s, who are in the prime of their working lives. The Japanese suicide rate is lower than those of Russia and the Baltic states, but it far exceeds the levels in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.

In October 2004 in Saitama prefecture, seven complete strangers - including a housewife, a student and workers - committed group suicide by suffocating themselves by burning a briquette stove in a car. The individuals were from a variety of regions and had contacted each other through suicide websites. Their motives for committing suicide are unclear. One mother left a note to her two small children which read, "Mommy's going to die, but I'm glad that I gave birth to both of you."

The wife of a university baseball team coach who hung himself at his home said that her husband had too much strain to lead to a league championship once every three years. She claims that he hadn't taken a day off in three months and he committed suicide due to overwork. A high court judge who logged 300 work hours every month also committed suicide. His wife guesses that his suicide was caused by depression.