Suicide in Japan
Suicide is a big issue in Japan. The suicide rate in Japan is the highest among developed nations along with South Korea. In a government survey, about one out of four Japanese people said that they have considered suicide before. In 2014, about 25,000 people committed suicide and many attempted suicide.
Most of the people who commit suicide are men for typical reasons like stress, unemployment, or feelings of inadequacy. Suicide is the number one reason for death among men aged 20–44. Many people who are having difficulties in life will not seek out help, however. In Japan, admitting to a mental issue isn’t so simple; in their culture it is seen as a weakness to admit to something like depression. Especially to men who will feel embarrassed for seeking help.
Another issue is teens are committing suicide because of bullying.
This graph shows that many more suicides occur on September 1st. This is because after a summer break, students go back to school around this day and instead of going back, some rather choose suicide. When CNN interviewed a Japanese student who faced bullying, she said, “In Japan, you have to fall in line with other people. And if you cannot do that, you’re either ignored or bullied.” Since many people that commit suicide are in their earlier years, it is a contribution to population decline because they are not likely to have children yet.
Many people in Japan don’t view Suicide as terribly as people in other countries. They don’t have a religion like Christianity where suicide is seen as a bad thing. In Japanese history the Samurai practiced seppuku, which is an act of suicide after doing something shameful. It was also seen as honorable during the Second World War to be a kamikaze pilot and sacrifice yourself to help defeat the enemy. People still hold on to this belief that if they commit suicide, no one will be disappointed in them but it is the right thing to do if they think they are inadequate.
This is the Aokigahara Forest where about 100 people are found dead from suicide each year. (Those are only the ones who are actually found…). It’s actually the second most popular place for suicide in the world, right behind the Golden Gate Bridge. The last time the count was made public was actually in 2003 when there were 105 people found. The government wanted to stop publicizing the suicides in hope that it would become a less popular suicide spot. The forest is at the base of Mount Fuji which isn’t too far away from Tokyo.
There are signs around the forest with messages that will hopefully convince people to not commit suicide. They say things like “You are not alone” and list the suicide hotline number. Workers actually go out in search of dead bodies to bring back. People choose this as their place to die because of how peaceful the forest is. There was a book written in the past where two lovers commit suicide here. Long ago this was a place where the poor used to take elderly and sick to die when they couldn’t be taken care of any longer. It has become so notorious that there was actually a paranormal movie made about Aokigahara.
Here is a video of a man who often goes to Aokigahara touring and talking about the forest. He talks about why he thinks people are more suicidal today than in the past. (The video shows a few images of dead bodies so don’t watch if you will find it to disturbing.)
The cultural stigma towards mental illnesses in Japan needs to change. Dealing with a mental illness is more challenging compared to other countries. It isn’t something that people feel comfortable talking about. Finland decreased their suicide rates by 40% in 15 years by providing more support and treatment. In Japan mental health issues aren’t covered by public health insurance so it can be costly for therapy sessions. There also needs to be more psychologists available and issues like depression should be talked about more instead of ignored.
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