Suicides behind most train delays in Tokyo area

Suicides behind most train delays in Tokyo area

Suicides were responsible for more than half the 40,600 train service suspensions or delays across the Tokyo metropolitan area in fiscal 2008, with 307 people taking their own lives, according to a transport ministry survey.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry held a meeting Monday with 12 major railway companies in the area including East Japan Railway Co. and Tokyo Metro Co., and asked to them consider examining the effectiveness of blue lighting in stations--which is thought to help to change the minds of suicidal people about taking their own lives.

http://www.yomiuri.c...223TDY02301.htm

A very "western approach" to the problem. Don't get to the root cause(s) as to why people want to commit suicide, just put up some silly blue light bulbs. That'll fix it for sure!

And before anyone decides to hoe right into me on it, I am in no way taking the issue of suicide lightly. Having dealt with a few people who have gone though it, and lost a couple of family members directly and indirectly to it, that is the LAST thing I intend to do.

Asian people are often acting very angrily and fanatically. Generally I see no reason why people should commit suicide at all except in case of being terminally ill and suicide helps to shorten the suffering time.

In some countries suicide in such cases is legally possible, like in Switzerland (but not here in Japan)

In Japan life is not that bad at all. I think, most Japanese people acting too much spontaneously in their decisions, without considering the consequences. Most of them, if they survive, they reconsider and regret their decision, but a few ones will not and try it again and again.

I think, if somebody really wants to commit suicide, there is very little what can be done to stop him or her. Such people will not change their mind easily.

Well, here is an interesting question: Do Asians take psychological problems less seriously than the west?

My experience in China has proved to me to be so. What about Japan?

Starseeker, on 27 December 2009 - 01:29 AM, said:

Asians are often obsessed to be a perfectionist, and if something goes wrong, just a little bit, they see no other way out except suicide for a moment and really do it.

Suicide generally in Japan is not considered as something wrong or bad, sometimes even considered as a respectable option to be out of everything and take responsibility. There are no religious arguments against suicide like in Christianity or Islam.

Suicide under certain circumstances is still considered to be something honorable in Japan. You did something really bad, a serious crime, and suicide might reinstall your honour by killing yourself.

Ah, yes, I had completely forgotten about hari-kari. (or was it hari-kiri, can't remember)

And since you mentioned it, I had recalled a movie called "A suicide club" from Japan. There seems to a lot of death related stories presented in different mediums in Japan, and especially for its young people. Is suicide cool? The ultimate escape of your responsibility in life? Is that still consider acceptable, just kill yourself, escape your debts, and let the rest of the families to deal with it?

In the west, it seems to be more honorable to keep on living, face your problems/shame/responsibility and make it better. There are plenty of scenes in cop movies about the good guy catching the misguided bad guy trying to kill him/herself as a last release and stopping him/her, telling them that they should repent for their sins and take responsibility for their actions.

Of course, there are different sides to this concept, since there are also plenty of shows that shows the hero killing the bad guy or let him/herself blown up.

As I rack my brain, I can't recall what/if any Chinese stories on suicides are, hm.., maybe I should look into it.

Remember boys and girls, when you really want to die, "It's up the river, not across the street".

yohan, on 27 December 2009 - 01:43 AM, said:

For those who are Buddhists, suicide breaks the 1st precept against the killing of a sentient being and is therefore likely to lead to an unfortunate rebirth. It is also considered to be the "craving for annihilation" and throwing away a precious rebirth in the human realm. But Buddhists (in any country) who are suffering enough to think of suicide generally don't think about this at all, and in Japan the idea that it is honorable self-sacrifice has a history as long as Buddhism and seems to trump religious considerations.

Starseeker, on 27 December 2009 - 02:07 AM, said:

Suicide by ritual disembowelment is "seppuku". As I understand it to call it "hara kiri", which literally means "cut belly", is an insult.

Uncle Gweilo, on 27 December 2009 - 04:01 PM, said:

No, not at all.

These are the same characters, just opposite position, and using either Chinese (ON) or Japanese (kun) way of pronunciation.

Seppuku was considered to be a legal right as Samurai to protest/refuse orders. Seppuku could also be ordered by superiors. Laws regarding formalities regarding seppuku were officially abolished in 1873. Not every Japanese was entitled to commit formal seppuku at that time.

Seppuku was not to die by yourself cutting or stabbing your belly and bleeding to death - the person who had the right to kill himself just made a cut or stab on his belly with a dagger as a ritual, and a friend chosen by him assisted and exactly at the same time when the dagger was touching the belly, the assistant cut off his head with a Japanese sword.
刀 - katana - long Japanese sword

The Ritual of Seppuku in this sense is more about beheading. 2 possibilities to write the same word of beheading.

首切り
首斬り
くびきり = kubikiri - beheading (nowadays this word is also used for being dismissed, fired....


切腹
seppuku

腹切
harakiri



The cut in the belly - which had to be done from left to right - was considered as important, as it was seen as the place where the soul was located and through this ritual cut the body was open to let the soul out to escape just a moment before the beheading.

Oh, I didn't know that the Kanji for the 2 words are the same, just re-arranged.

Since you mentioned Kubikiri, that reminded me of a book I read about old sword testers. Hm..., maybe I'll dig that up and read it again.

yohan, on 27 December 2009 - 08:32 PM, said:

Thanks for the info. I'm always keen to learn.