Tag - suicide

 
 

SUICIDE

Toyoji Sudo, mayor of Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture, was found dead early Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2026
Mayor of Ibaraki city found dead in drainage ditch
Ibaraki Prefectural Police believe, based on surrounding circumstances, that Toyoji Sudo killed himself.
Local governments are being asked to create a council that would help promote early intervention regarding youths at risk of suicide.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Agency asks local authorities to set up youth suicide prevention councils
The aim is to quickly identify youths who are at risk of dying by suicide by obtaining information from schools and medical institutions, and promoting early intervention.
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinjū under her own name. She has since been involved in parents’ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 18, 2026
‘There was no village’: Japan’s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
In a society where asking for help is often difficult, many parents and caregivers are unsure where to turn. Sometimes, it leads to tragedy.
Government data shows that 1,074 students died last year, including 532 elementary, junior high and high school students — the highest number since 1980.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2026
Japan’s suicide death toll drops to record low
The overall number fell by 1,223 from the previous year’s confirmed total, marking a third consecutive annual decline.
A former soldier being treated for PTSD at the Combat Veterans Psychedelic Research Clinic at Emek Medical Center embraces his service dog in Afula, Israel, in December.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 16, 2026
Israel sees spike in PTSD and suicide among troops as fighting persists
Israel’s Defense Ministry says it has recorded a nearly 40% increase in PTSD cases among its soldiers since September 2023, and ‍predicts the figure will increase by 180% by 2028.
A parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Self-Defense Forces in Tokyo in November 2024.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 9, 2026
Japanese government ordered to pay damages over SDF officer’s suicide
In the lawsuit filed with the Sapporo District Court, the mother of the 19-year-old GSDF member was awarded ¥1.1 million in damages.
In response to concerns that some children have reservations about discussing their issues with adults, the Children and Families Agency established a project team of about 30 officials in autumn 2024 to hear what children's have to say.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2026
Japan launches campaign to encourage children to talk about problems
The campaign focuses on creating an environment in which children can consult with adults comfortably.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s officers investigate the house of a woman and her three children who died in Nishitokyo in western Tokyo on Dec. 19.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 26, 2025
Suspected murder-suicide of woman and sons linked to another death
A 27-year-old man found dead in an apartment in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward on Monday is believed to have been in a relationship with the woman.
Yukimi Takahashi, the mother of Matsuri Takahashi, who died as a result of overwork, speaks to reporters in front of her daughter's portrait in Tokyo on Dec. 5.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2025
Mother in Dentsu suicide case opposes any easing of labor laws
The mother has spearheaded efforts to prevent karōshi, including through speaking engagements at schools and labor unions.
OpenAI has announced changes to make ChatGPT better at recognizing and responding to different ways that people may express mental distress.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 12, 2025
OpenAI and Microsoft sued over murder-suicide blamed on ChatGPT
The case is the first to blame OpenAI for a homicide.
Takashi Tachibana, leader of a political group critical of NHK, was indicted on Friday by the Kobe District Public Prosecutor's Office for allegedly defaming a former Hyogo assembly member who reportedly died by suicide.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 28, 2025
Anti-NHK group leader Tachibana indicted for defamation
Takashi Tachibana had been arrested Nov. 9 for allegedly disseminating false information about a former Hyogo prefectural assembly member.
Takashi Tachibana, head of the anti-NHK party
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2025
Anti-NHK group’s head arrested in libel case
Takashi Tachibana’s arrest came after the police determined that he could run or destroy evidence.
The Cowboys' Marshawn Kneeland sacks the Giants' Daniel Jones during a game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sept. 26, 2024
MORE SPORTS
Nov 7, 2025
Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland dies of apparent suicide
The cause of death will be officially determined by the Collin County medical examiner.
The health ministry's Suicide White Paper for 2024 has found that numbers for both men and women peak at age 21, with “concerns over future career paths” being identified as the most likely cause.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2025
Number of suicide cases among students in Japan hits record high in 2024
The figure for those in their 20s also remained high, underscoring the need to beef up care for the younger generation.
Emergency room visits for self-harm and suicide attempts have been rising since 2019, with the sharpest increases observed among young people and women, a report revealed on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 10, 2025
More people being hospitalized in Japan for self-harm, attempted suicide: report
In 2023, a total of 42,977 people were taken to hospital, 2,721 more than the previous year, according to the Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center.
Some 93.1% of Japanese teenagers who struggle with school life said they felt like they “wanted to disappear from the world" at the end of summer vacation ahead of the start of a new term, according to a recent survey released by Yokohama-based nonprofit Daisan Kazoku.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2025
Most Japanese teens struggling with school find end of summer ‘painful’
In a recent survey, 93.1% of respondents said they felt they “wanted to disappear from the world.”
Hiroyoshi Takizawa looks at pictures from his days in wartime Manchuria as a child during an interview in Nagano in June.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025
A life upended by wartime mass suicides
Hiroyoshi Takizawa’s life in Manchuria was comfortable at first. But when the Soviet Union invaded, his father, fearing the worst, chose mass suicide.
Alan Bates, a former branch manager who led the fight for justice, has said the compensation process has "turned into quasi-kangaroo courts."
WORLD
Jul 9, 2025
U.K. post office scandal may have caused 13 suicides: inquiry
The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted around 1,000 subpostmasters — self-employed branch managers — between 1999 and 2015.
A Buddhist monk performs a ceremony for lost souls at a property which is classified as a <i>jiko bukken</i>, or a "misfortunate property" where deaths have occurred, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on May 8.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2025
As property prices soar in Japan, the taint of death may not deter some buyers
Investors attracted by potential high yields increasingly do not care about a property’s grim history, mostly because they are unlikely to live there themselves.
The Justice Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Takahiro Shiraishi, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing nine people in the space of two months, was executed on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025
Japan executes ‘Twitter killer’ in first hanging since 2022
Takahiro Shiraishi was on death row for killing nine people he met on social media in 2017.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival