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Japan: A surge of suicides

· Written by Hanako Tokita

Categories: East Asia, Japan, Health, Ideas, Media & Journalism

Over the past few weeks, the Japanese media have been extensively reporting suicide cases associated with the use of hydrogen sulfide gas [1], providing detailed description of ingredients and methods used, as well as victims’ profiles. The recent media reporting has been so extensive and sensationalized that the Japan Suicide Prevention Association requested that media organizations be more careful with their reporting [2] [jp]. The phenomenon has stirred up conversation among Japanese bloggers, who hold differing views on the topic.

Blogger Misuto [3] comments on the recent phenomenon:

一日に約、90人
が自殺により命をおとすようです
年間3万人
自殺原因第一位は、鬱によるものらしいです
勿論先進国のなかで一位
それにしても多いですね、驚いた
最近なんかはニュースで
硫化水素自殺のニュースが非常に多いですよね
これから自殺者が年々減っていけばよいのですが・・・。

About 90 people per day commit suicide.
30,000 people in a year.
The number one reason for suicides is apparently depression.
Of course this is the highest among industrialized countries.
Anyway, this is a lot, I'm surprised.
Recently, there have been a lot of news reports about cases of suicide by hydrogen sulfide gas.
I hope that the number of suicides will decrease…

Blogger hakobe [4] writes:

自殺を防ぐ（＝生きたいと思わせる）には
その人自身が必要とされているという実感
と
必要とされたいと思えるような相手（社会，人…etc）
が必要なんだと思う．

To prevent suicides (i.e. to make people want to live),
the actual feeling that one is needed,
and
the somebody one wants to be needed by (society, people…etc)
are needed, I think.

硫化水素自殺が流行っているらしい．
硫化水素を発生させるための情報や薬品の排除がすすめられているようだけど，「今」「硫化水素で」自殺する人が減る「かもしれない」だけの対症療法．

“対症療法”をいくら重ねても，こんな世の中のままじゃ自殺予備軍はきっと減らないよ．

I hear that suicides by hydrogen sulfide gas are spreading.
Although the removal of chemicals as well as information on how to produce hydrogen sulfide gas is being carried out, this is only a stopgap measure which “might” reduce the number of people who commit suicide “by hydrogen sulfide” “now”.

No matter how many measures may be taken, if society remains as it is, the number of potential suicides will probably not decrease.

poster
Poster for an anti-suicide campaign by an local municipality in Tokyo: “We want you to live”

Some bloggers are critical of the media's handling of the cases. This blogger [5] suggests that the media stop reporting suicides altogether:

自殺の連鎖を食い止める方法をなんとかせないかんの違いますかね？

Isn't it that we have to do something to stop the cycle of suicides?

人はなぜか、「やって！」というとやらないで、
「しないで欲しい」っていうと、やってしまう。。。
そういう傾向ってありますよね。

だから、メディアでやめてくださいみたいなことをいうと
やっちゃう人でてくるんじゃないっすかね？

For some reason, there is a tendency where people don't do things that they are asked to do, and do things that they are told not to do.

So, when the media say “don't do this”, then there will be people who do it, won't there?

そのメディアも、たしかに真実を伝えるっていうことは重要ですが、
逆に硫化水素自殺の報道を一切やめるっていうのはどうでしょうかね？

Certainly it is important for the media to report the truth,
but how about stop reporting hydrogen sulfide gas suicides altogether?

日本ってのは情報に流されやすいのか、
テレビで取り扱わなかった場合ってあっという間に飽きられると
私は思うんです。そう。飽きっぽい。

ちょい前に「韓流ブーム」とか、「ハンカチ王子」とかあったでしょ？

放送しなかったら途端に忘れちゃう人が多いと思うんです。
※本当に好きな人は別で。

Japanese are easily swayed by information,
and things get old really fast when they are no longer seen on TV, that's what I think.
That's right, people get tired of things easily.

A while ago, there were the “Korea boom” and “Hankachi Ōji (Handkerchief Prince)”, remember?

I think that there are many things that people would forget about if they were not broadcast.
*except for those people who really like these things.

「毒ギョーザ事件」

ほら。忘れてたでしょ？

The poison dumpling incident

See, you forgot all about it right?

まだ問題は解決してませんが、うやむやのまま流れていくんです。

私も含め、そういう日本の特質というんでしょうか
飽きっぽいのは悪い癖だと思うんです。

The problem has not been solved yet, but will be left unsolved.

This is a kind of characteristic of Japanese people, myself included
I think it's a bad habit.

んじゃ、硫化水素のこともメディアで取り扱わなかったら
その自殺の連鎖も止まるかもしれません！！
そうだ！マスコミがその鍵を握っているんだぁぁぁ！！

。。。ふぅ

And so, if the media do not cover hydrogen sulfide cases, then perhaps the circle of suicide can be broken!!
That's right! The media hold the key!!

…phew

Blogger taishibrian [6] discusses how the Internet has become the target of blame and points out that the Japanese media do not comply with the guideline set by WHO for media reporting of suicide cases:

オープンかつフラットなネットの世界においては、例えば漂白用に使う硫化水素の発生リスクについて書かれたページもあれば、硫化水素よりも致死性が高いであろう有機系の薬品に関する記載もあったりします。ただしその情報は、目的を持って検索されなければ普通の人の目には触れるはずのないものであり、マスコミがその情報に到達させるようなヒントを流しているというリスクも考えなければいけません。そしてそれを削除せよなんて後手の対策はいたちごっこでしかなく、練炭の次は硫化水素、その次は。。。という悪循環に陥るだけです。

In the open and flat world of the Internet, there are, for example, sites about the risk of hydrogen sulfide gas in bleaching, as well as sites describing organic chemicals with much higher lethality than hydrogen sulfide. However, this information cannot be exposed to ordinary people's eyes unless they purposefully search for it, and it should be taken into consideration the risk that the mass media might provide a hint about how to get to the information. And a follow-up measure to try to delete it is just a cat-and-mouse game and only creates a vicious cycle: [first you have] briquette coal, and next is hydrogen sulfide, and next is…

WHOでは自殺予防ガイドラインとして、メディアが遵守すべき自殺防止への報道のあり方を定義しています。
http://www8.cao.go.jp/souki/tebiki.pdf [7]（PDFファイル）
●写真や遺書を公表しない
●自殺の方法について詳細に報道しない
●原因を単純化して報じない
●自殺を美化したりセンセーショナルに報じない
●宗教的・文化的な固定観念を用いない
●自殺を責めない

これらは逆に現在のマスコミの報道姿勢をそのまま示している感じすらするような内容です。[…]

As guidelines, the WHO defines the way in which media should report the news in order to prevent suicides:
(see here for English version [8])
*Don't publish photographs or suicide notes
*Don't report detailed description of the method used.
*Don't give simplistic reasons
*Don't glorify or sensationalize suicide
*Don't use religious or cultural stereotypes
*Don't apportion blame.

These points almost seem like they are describing what the current state of the mass media is.[…]