The Suicide Club
Rising Sun of Nihon reports that Japan ranks only number 10 among the top 15 countries reporting the highest suicide rates. In terms of suicide deaths per 100,000 population the following countries beat out Japan: Lithuania (42.1), Belarus (36.8), Russia (36.2), Sri Lanka (30.7), Kazakhstan (30.0), Hungary (28.5), Guyana (26.8), Latvia (25.2), and Ukraine (25.2). Japan stands at 24.2, followed closely by South Korea at 23.8.
North Korea didn’t even appear among the top 15, since suicide is illegal there. Well, suicide is illegal pretty well everywhere, but is strongly discouraged in North Korea. The recent group suicide in Japan is credited with catapulting Japan into the top ten suicide countries, although it still would have made the list. Which brings up the Suicide Club. It’s hard to say what exactly it means, but it’s definitely about suicide in Japan.
Suicide Club (2002) Also known as Suicide Circle, aka Jisatsu Sakuru, aka Jisatsu Club. A wave of unexplainable suicides sweeps across Tokyo after 54 smiling high school girls join hands and throw themselves from a subway platform into an oncoming train. Are the jumpers part of a cult? What is the connection to the website that chronicles suicides…before they happen? And, what is the connection to the Japanese all-girl pop group Desert? Suicide Club is a stylish, bizarre thriller that examines pop culture and disaffected youth. [amazon.com]
as my therapist once stated Dr.Paul - “Suicide is a Question - Not an Answer!”
*although up at Kegon Falls, (several times) I-Have-Been-Sorely-TEMPTED*
http://www.homeandabroad.com/c/76/Site/166903_Kegon_Falls_visit.html
(…don’t think i’m joking - I’m Not.)
remora.
November 1st, 2007 at 2:49 pmDr.Paul,was there any particular month of the year,in Japan,when suicides were at their PEAK?..moreover, which season?.
*or maybe RSN can evaluate this, and clarify this bleak STATISTIC.*
RS-of-N ??..your call!
remora.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:17 pmHi rem. There seems to be considerable literature on this with lots about latitude and SAD (which apparently has little effect). Anyway, for Japan in 2001 was like this:
Regardless of gender, mean daily suicide incidence by month demonstrated a clear bimodal distribution, with a largest peak in April and a smaller peak in September. Harmonic analyses revealed that over 65% (66.7% for men and 66.2% for women) of the total variance in suicides was explained by the seasonal component… [British Journal of Psychiatry http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/178/2/183-a
The Ministry of Welfare apparently collects stats (probably in Japanese…)
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:10 pmI was told by Japanese friends that you shouldn’t take a picture with Kegon Falls in the background. Not only is a ghostly arm (from someone who committed suicide), etc. likely to show up in the picture, but it might follow you home and even try to kill you (example I was given was that it might grab the steering wheel on the winding road down). I’ve been there several times now and taken lots of pictures, but unfortunately, no trace of ghosts.
More seriously, April in Japan is the beginning of new things (school, new company hires, etc.). Might match up with new stresses or failures to succeed. September is somewhat similar with the end of summer, especially with the slow pace and all the vacations taken in August.
November 3rd, 2007 at 1:33 am(RTN & Dr.Paul) - i had been to Kegon Falls several times previously, before i had what i term, “my moment of doubt”.
I found the drive up there that day, along the famous switchbacks Irohazaka “tentacle stiffening” especially since the car my brother-in-law (Ayumu) was driving, was amongst Europe’s finest and fastest - I think he set a record…anyway..it was mid January 2005, it had stopped snowing, but the cloud cover was very low and it was bitterly cold, but no wind.
I remember him saying “I go to Gifto-Shoppu - OK?”
i leaned against the viewing platform railing and stared across at the Falls - and then it happened - i swear i heard my late fathers voice say “Jump son..Jump!”
When Ayumu returned, he practically had to prise my white knuckles off that railing…
Later, as we drove on to Lake Chuzenji he recounted a little of the history of the falls (lovers leap).
I have never since returned, preferring to spend the majority of my free time, around Tataranuma leaning against a tree - watching swans.
rem.
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:39 am