Monday, April 28, 2008

Influence of the Internet on Suicide in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- A 14-year-old Japanese girl killed herself by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser, releasing fumes that also sickened 90 people in her apartment house, police said Thursday as they grappled with a spate of similar suicides.

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Emergency responders enter an apartment building in Konan, Japan, where a girl commited suicide.

None of the sickened neighbors in Konan, southern Japan, was severely ill, although about 10 were hospitalized, authorities said. The deadly hydrogen sulfide gas escaped from the girl's bathroom window and entered neighboring apartments.

The girl's suicide Wednesday night was part of an expanding string of similar deaths that experts say have been encouraged by Internet suicide sites since last summer.

Japan's government has long battled to contain the country's alarmingly high suicide rate. A total of 32,155 people killed themselves in 2006, giving the country the ninth highest rate in the world, according to the government.
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Please pray for those who are struggling today in Japan. Pray that they would find the hope of the world - Jesus.

Read here for more.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is just heartbreaking. Seems like I hear a story like this every week. Makes me wish there were more people to share the Gospel with Japanese... how many people do you think could have been saved from depression and suicide if they'd had someone to tell them about Christ?

Although many in Japan may feel they don't need God, depressed, suicidal people, hikkikomori, burakumin, and other outcasts might listen. There's probably no stronger witness than a changed life.

M&M in Japan said...

Japan is very dark and you are right, Kyle, we need the gospel here! The gospel cannot go anywhere, however, without prayer. For those who cannot go, you can do more than just give money. You can pray. God is the one who does the work through the proclamation, and he aims to get glory through the prayers of the saints. Please pray for our precious friends here. Pray that God would give life to the spiritually dead!