Kon’nichiwa こんにちは Hello and Sumimasen すみません (Bows deeply).
I know this old topic from 2013, but this still a serious problem in Japan.
I am try to build this e-zine about otaku culture.
Published on Mar 6, 2013 on YouTube:
Each year, close to 30,000 people commit suicide in Japan. Over the years, the Japanese government and corporations have tried various methods to lower the suicide rate but Japan continues to have one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
SAVING 10,000 is a documentary that takes a deeper look at the serious problem of suicide in Japan, its causes, its repercussions, and what people are trying to do about it.
SAVING 10,000 – 自殺者１万人を救う戦い Selected in Japan Times “Top 10 Movies of 2013” – Nominated for 14 film festival awards – Screened at Japanese Parliament – Used in Government’s 2013 Suicide Prevention Campaign – Grassroots screenings all around Japan. Over 50 media interviews done.
Official site is: http://www.Saving10000.com
In a war on suicide, who is the enemy?
‘Saving 10,000’ is the story of an Irishman’s personal passion to uncover the true causes of the high suicide rate in Japan. With the help of front-line experts and ordinary Japanese, many touched by the horror of suicide, the movie delivers practical proposals on how Japan can win a war on suicide. However with suicide such a taboo, the odds are nobody will listen. Or will they?
自殺との戦いにおいて、「敵」はいったい誰なのか。映画『Saving 10,000 – 自殺者１万人を救う戦い』は、日本の高い自殺率の真の原因究明に挑む一人のアイルランド人の物語である。作品を通じて、日本のマスコミによる自殺報道のあり方、経済的圧力、うまく機能していない精神医療制度などの重要な問題が浮かび上がってくる。第一線で活躍する専門家から一般人まで、約100人へ取材し、日本がどうすれば自殺との戦いに勝利できるのか、具体的な方策を提示している。しかし、自殺の話題がタブー視されている日本で、一体どのくらいの人が耳を傾けてくれるのだろうか。
If you are suicidal, or know someone that is, please contact either Inochi no Denwa, or TELL — Tokyo English Life Line, for support and recommendations on how to deal with it. Depression and suicide is a very serious issue, and should not be ignored. Please, seek help.
You can find the sites here:
http://www.telljp.com/
http://www.indt.jp/
Throughout the documentary interviews are conducted with various people connected to suicide, everything from authors, journalists, police, health care workers, and more. As we delve deeper into the reasons behind this phenomenon in Japan, we see that while it may be a complex topic, the reasons are often not hard to grasp. So why is no one doing anything? Well, people are, but is it enough?
The problem of suicide in Japan is big enough, that Wikipedia has an entire page dedicated to just that issue.
“Suicide in Japan has become a significant national social issue. Japan has a relatively high suicide rate, but the number of suicides is declining and has been under 30,000 for 2 consecutive years. It is the leading cause of death in men aged 20–44.
Factors in suicide include unemployment, depression, and social pressures. In 2007, the National Police Agency revised the categorization of motives for suicide into a division of 50 reasons with up to three reasons listed for each suicide. Suicides traced to losing jobs surged 65.3 percent while those attributed to hardships in life increased 34.3 percent. Depression remained at the top of the list for the third year in a row, rising 7.1 percent from the previous year.
There has been a rapid increase in suicides since the 1990s.
For example, 1998 saw a 34.7% increase over the previous year. This has prompted the Japanese government to react by increasing funding to treat the causes of suicide and those recovering from failed suicides.”
You can read more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_…
If you are interested in other documentaries about suicide in Japan, you can also have a look at the documentary posted here:
“Secret Life of Japan”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFud9…
Journeyman Pictures, also has a good documentary on this issue. It focuses on the frightening concept of child suicide in Japan, often the result of bullying and the harsh discipline employed in Japanese schools. It’s called “Japan child suicide epidemic driven by school discipline” and can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XX30…
We thank you for watching this, and hope that you have learned more about these serious social issues in Japan. If you, or someone you know, is depressed or suicidal, please seek appropriate help before it’s too late.
Suicide is never the answer.
Charles Lucas チャールズ ルーカス
Fellow Otaku おたく/オタク
Founder of Otaku Times オタクの世界
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