Japan's suicide rate for job seekers jumps

[ryuhebi13]

Originally Posted by HimeChan13

But what may seem odd to people of other cultures, Japanese people see absolutley nothing wrong with this. Japanese people truly think suicide is an honorable way to die. This could be because of their religion. In a lot of countries, Chritsianity or Catholicism dominates. In Japan, they have religions that are very different than these two. Apparantly, it is quite acceptable for Japanese people to take their own lives. They don't see anything wrong with it.

Is this true? I don't think it has anything to do with their religion but more the pressure these people are under. I don't know if Japan has a benefits system for unemployed people (will look it up) but I have seen photos of the homeless in Japan showing the stark reality of being out of work. Course, not all homeless are on the streets for that reason.

[tokusatsufan]

I don't get how they live in such an amazing country and then they do this.I hate the salaryman culture. They even made a song about it as if it was a good thing.

They do need to sort out the social stigma about mental health.

[steven]

Originally Posted by Sinestra

Correct the Japanese do have a different view of death and suicide. The problem is the sheer number of people killing themselves per year. At this point its almost an epidemic of massive proportions. The problem is not just the extreme amount of pressure student are under there are many other factors. Mental health treatment is high looked down upon in Japanese society. There are millions of people that suffer from chronic depression. In most western countries one would get help from a therapist and/or get on medication to even themselves out and live fruitful lives. This is not the case in Japan many people do not seek treatment because of the social stigma and eventually end up killing themselves. So add a tremendous amount of pressure to do well in school, Then add in that you cant find a job after the hell you went through just to graduate One might start to feeling depressed and as time goes on it gets worse and worse you have potent scenario for suicide. Also, kids in Japan kill themselves over bullying as well as oppose in the US where the bullied takes out the whole school.

Religion does not play a part as Japan does not have national religion. Regardless i find a lot of it sad that people feel there is no other choice but to take ones own life when things get hard.

I wonder if people even have time to seek help for that kind of thing.

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by ryuhebi13

Is this true? I don't think it has anything to do with their religion but more the pressure these people are under. I don't know if Japan has a benefits system for unemployed people (will look it up) but I have seen photos of the homeless in Japan showing the stark reality of being out of work. Course, not all homeless are on the streets for that reason.

The problem isn't the pressure, but in how they deal with it. Relatively speaking, Japan is a prosperous country where most people do very well. But many Japanese have a limited perspective about themselves and the world. In high school they work themselves to death to pass university entrance exams, but the universities are mediocre at best, where professors are little more than tape players reading uninspiring lectures to students who need real-world knowledge and guidance.

Working life is not that great either, the hours are long, the work boring, and the pay is seniority-based rather than merit-based, so even those young people who have talent or skill are unable to rise up in the company other than by putting in long years. In Japan the boss is always right, even when he is flat wrong.

The universities cater to this business system, so they don't bother to teach initiative, debate, or outside-the-box thinking. And many Japanese would love to live outside the box, but simply don't know how.

This system plays a great part in Japan's low birth rate, and Japan's increasing inability to compete in international business, and the suicide rate.

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by evanny

what's wrong with suicide as an answer?
you get tired of life so you decide to end it quicker. that is the only thing that actually belongs to a person so why not use it how and when you see fit? O.o

i don't think it is nice to call these people mentally ill since most of them aren't. if anything it's a stigma carried from governments since they lose workforce.

Suicide is the great "non-answer". Your life is the greatest of all gifts, and throwing it away over the inability to deal with the problems of he world only adds another problem. It is much better to live for something than to die for it.

What do you think happens to the families of those who commit suicide? Mental health problems are a stigma, but an even worse one is when someone in your family commits suicide.

If you throw yourself in front of a train in Japan, your family is going to be hit with a huge bill. They will be forced to pay the railroad for the income lost by delaying the train. This typically runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. If you jump in front of the Shinkansen, it could cost one million dollares. If you commit suicide in an apartment building, your family will have to pay the landlord damages as no one will rent an apartment where there as been a suicide. The financial cost of 30,000 suicides per year is staggering, to families and to the economy.

If you hate your life so much, don't throw it away, just give it to someone else. Join the Peace Corps, the military, or become a migrant farm worker, any of these jobs will put your life to good use, and perhaps even teach you how to live yourself.

[evanny]

dude. there are ways to kill yourself without a f**king train...why japanese are always jumping in front of them? take nice load of aspirin and it will be done.

lol. exactly what you just said "well, if you hate your life then.....GO AND WORK!" is like any government would want you to since workforce killing themselves is costly for society.

and ill stick by that - if you want to then go ahead, kill yourself, you won't be judged by me.

P.S those 30 000 Japanese only make up for 3% of worlds suicides. not exactly an epidemic.

[termogard]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

If you throw yourself in front of a train in Japan, your family is going to be hit with a huge bill. They will be forced to pay the railroad for the income lost by delaying the train. This typically runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. If you jump in front of the Shinkansen, it could cost one million dollares. If you commit suicide in an apartment building, your family will have to pay the landlord damages as no one will rent an apartment where there as been a suicide. The financial cost of 30,000 suicides per year is staggering, to families and to the economy.

What? How a family could pay for suicide member?

[MMM]

Originally Posted by termogard

What? How a family could pay for suicide member?

I have heard that this is true. Shutting down a train line costs hundreds of thousands of yen a minute.

[termogard]

Originally Posted by MMM

I have heard that this is true. Shutting down a train line costs hundreds of thousands of yen a minute.

Yes, I understood.
But why other family members MUST pay compensation to, say, railway company for suicide one? Are they guilty for his (her) suicide action? If so, it is rather strange.

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by evanny

dude. there are ways to kill yourself without a f**king train...why japanese are always jumping in front of them? take nice load of aspirin and it will be done.

lol. exactly what you just said "well, if you hate your life then.....GO AND WORK!" is like any government would want you to since workforce killing themselves is costly for society.

and ill stick by that - if you want to then go ahead, kill yourself, you won't be judged by me.

P.S those 30 000 Japanese only make up for 3% of worlds suicides. not exactly an epidemic.

Yes, but the number in proportion to Japan's population is high, and despite Japan's small size, it is still the world's third largest economy. As such, Japan's suicide rate has a subtle influence on the world's economy, in other words it even affects your life.

Life isn't about work, it is about living. Work is a basic part of life, and even animals must do it if they want to survive. In the old days grief stricken people would emigrate, or join the foreign legion and often they found a new reason to live. The government has nothing to do with it.

There are many ways to commit suicide, an few people are as ingenious as the Japanese when it comes to creative ways to commit suicide, but regardless of the method, if they have any living family, then their family members are going to bear a large cost.