Japan is one of the most interesting and culturally different places in the world than anything you would find in the west, but not everything is for the better. Due to past history of ritual suicide, over work and stressful examinations, some Japanese choose to suicide over a life which they see to have no desirable future. While Japan was once the country with the most suicides in the world, things have gotten better in recent years, but there is still a strong presence of suicides within the country. I want to go into detail of why this is and what can and is trying to be done about it.
Suicide in Japan culturally was a rare, but almost glorified phenomenon amongst the ruling Samurai class in the past. Samurai would partake in a ritual called Seppuku, which ultimately resulted in them cutting open their stomach and having one of their retainers sever their spinal cord, without decapitating them in order to make the process of death easier on them. Seppuku rarely occurred, but when it did, it was seen as a noble death. It disappeared for a hundred years during the industrial revolution in Japan, but came back during World War II on the battlefield near the end of the war. There is still a sort of nostalgia and glorification of Seppuku and suicide for atonement in the Japanese society today, which is one reason why people chose death rather than existence.
For many people in Japan, life can be a monotonous existence which often leads to heavy depression and, or , alcoholism or substance abuse. The stereo typical salary man who works 14 hours at an office gets drunk, wakes up and does it all over again, is not a myth, it is the existence for many people that take this path. Because of societal pressure and there not really being an ability to just find another, easier job, most people are forced to live this lifestyle. There is a large stigma on mental health in Japan as well so rather than people getting help, they continue this lifestyle until they break and kill themselves or sometimes others in a murder suicide. The overwork and inability to cope is a very large reason that many have committed suicide in Japan in the past.
Finally another important reason Japan sees many younger children committing suicide is the pressure the school system places on them. Japanese youth are required to take exams in order to place into junior highschools and highschools, which often have stark competition if you want to be accepted into a good school. From the start if you don’t get into a good junior highschool, you wont get into a good high school, which means you wont get into a good university, then a good job , so on and so forth. Some youth see this and think what is the point, if their lives are going to end up like salary men, why not end it now. The pressure that the school system puts on the youth, not only breeds depression and mental illness, but a willingness to not change the system hurts them in the long run.
The Japanese are not all suicidal, but the society definitely does not help in creating a safe and happy place for everyone. If you don’t follow the rules you get cast out in a matter of speaking and it is hard to survive or raise a family. Even if you do follow the rules, many still live a life they don’t want to. This is why many people choose suicide as opposed to life. They don’t see a way to escape an unhappy life and Japan has to do something to stop this. While they have tried to force companies to force people to take vacations, cut down on work, ect. , they still refuse to because they fear losing their jobs. While it is slowly changing, much more has to be done in the future.