Internet Suicide Pacts Surge in Japan

darkmonkeh writes "The number of Japanese who killed themselves in online suicide pacts rose sharply last year, according to the BBC. Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and the pacts may appeal to those scared to die alone. These Japanese internet 'suicide clubs' accounted for at least 26 deaths in the last 2 months."

Comments

Culture shouldn't be making "Hikikomori"

[Eli Gottlieb]

I have to wonder, what is it about Japanese culture that produces these people in such high numbers? In America, they'd listen to emo music.

I have hunches but no evidence. Could somebody explain this tragic issue?

Re:Culture shouldn't be making "Hikikomori"

[JanneM]

Cultural differences. Really.

People become depressed or financially or emotionally desperate all over the world. What kind of action (if any) it translates into depends a lot on social factors, such as the general acceptance of a given act, the impact on friends and relatives, the number of friends and relatives you have to be impacted and so on.

So in a culture where a suicide doesn't carry a heavy stigma, where you tend to have small circles of family and friends and where some peculiarities of financial law can make it an attractive option in some corner cases you'll get quite a few suicides.

Note that another way of "dealing" with an intolerable life situation, the killing spree or "going postal" kind of shootout, drunken rampages with a vehicle and so on, is very rare to unheard of here.

Japan and Suicide

[SinGunner]

Having lived here awhile now, the idea of suicide in Japan is completely different from what it was in America. There are a couple things you have to keep in mind:

A) Mental illness is heavily stigmatized
B) Suicide is legal and only vaguely stigmatized

Oh, and if you kill yourself by jumping in front of a train (I don't know how many times I've sat on a train where we couldn't move until they cleaned it off), your family has to pay Japan Railways for the cost of repairs/cleaning. So, if you're crazy and hate your family and work 70 hours a week, suicide doesn't seem that bad, really. Nobody seems to care that much about it either. People always laugh and joke when the train comes to an abrupt stop.

Internet suicide is old news here. Just like your silly "cellular phones" and "computers". Telepathic communication is the new thing.

There's more to it than that...

[Garwulf]

Certainly I think you raise a very good point, but there is a fundamental difference between east and west that nobody so far has touched upon, and it is important. We have a large stigma against suicide - in Japan that doesn't really exist, from what I understand. And there is a reason for that difference.

Put simply, Western spirituality is about how human beings relate to a divine being (God, Allah, etc.), but there is an assumption that human beings are not themselves divine. Eastern spirituality is about understanding how human beings are divine - they have part of the divine in them. So, ending your life in Western spirituality is a source of judgement and damnation at the hands of the divine, whereas ending your life in Eastern spirituality is in part setting the divine part of you free - hence, no ill spiritual aftereffects, and no stigma.

Re:Where is the world going?

[pilkul]

I once read that in the Nazi death camps, suicide was very rare, but in the month after the camps were liberated a large number of survivors took their lives.

What I mean to say is that suicide is an act undertaken by those who are physically in good shape but psychologically and philosophically shattered. When you're starving, you think only of getting the next bite of food, and the thought of killing yourself is remote. When you have the time and mental capacity to ponder nihilism, that's when you take action. I think that would explain the third-world/first-world difference; there is not more misery in the first world, but the misery that exists is more conductive to suicide.

Re:Where is the world going?

[mewsenews]

Anyone interested in the depressing aspects of liberation from a death camp should check out a book called King Rat by James Clavell. The work is semi-autobiographical as it features Changi, a POW camp run by the Japanese during WWII, where the author himself had been confined.

When the healthy, grinning troops from the Real World showed up, the prisoners were shattered when they realized just how totally screwed up they were, and how much they had lost in their grueling struggle for existance.

Err, veering somewhat on topic, some of the characters ended their lives in ways you'll remember. It's a fantastic book.

Japanese Culture

[CB-in-Tokyo]

"I have to wonder, what is it about Japanese culture that produces these people in such high numbers?"

When you says these people I am going to assume you means suicides in general, and not just suicide clubs. First of all I want to say that 26 people in 2 months having died in suicide clubs, is likely FAR below the number that actually happened with clubs, and is definitely far below the number of actual suicides.

I take the train in Tokyo to work everyday often, probably once per week, a train that I am riding on is delyed due to a "jishin jikko" which basically means self death incidient. Suicide is common in Japan. As to what cultural aspects influence this, not being a cultural expert, I can only guess at several.

1) Historically suicide was a way to maintain, or regain your honour. Honour and spirit are very important in Japanese culture. It is more important to the older generation than the younger generation, however, the younger generation cannot help but having these ideals ingrained into their subconscious.

2) Group thinking. The Japanese are extremely group oriented. The group is more important than the individual. Being ostracized by your group, and being in a position where you have let your group down can be extremely painful. It can be painful in any culture, but in Japan it is something more. There is an expression in Japan that says "The nail that sticks out must be hammered down!" This means that everyone should be alike and that anyone who is different should be forced to comply or exiled. For people who have never been in a group, or have been exiled from a group, the idea of joining a group again, where you are understood if even for a short time, could be a big motivator to join a suicide club.

3) Pride. Japanese people are very proud and adverse to failure. There have been cases where people have starved to death rather than go onto any kind of government assitance. There are very clear cultural rules regarding what is proper or improper behaviour and people would rather literally die than break some of those rules and be shamed in front of their friends and family.

4) Gaman suru! Gama suru essentially means to endure. In Japan, it is expected for people to endure hardships. To silently put up with tough situations and keep going. This is seen in many aspects of life here, whether it is pain, tough business situations, or the loss of a loved one. When the pressures get too high, it is hard to be able to talk to people and often suicide is seen as the easiest, most honourable out.

5) School system. The school system here is incredibly competitive. The study ethic here is higher than anywhere else I have seen in the world, and the pressure to perform is incredible. Students often finish school and then go to a private school for more intense training in the evenings. Getting into a good university here is the hardest part, and it can determine your life. Pressure and failures at school are huge stresses on the students, and it is often easier to kill yourself, than to admit failure.

If you look at the reasons above, and combine them together, it paints a better picture. There are probably reasons I have missed but I think the picture I have drawn is essentially correct. I have been in Japan for 6 years now, and am getting married to a Japanese woman in April. When we have children, I won't want them to go through a typical school in Japan.

Cheers,

CB