Suicide prevention

“This ticket makes any wish come true”: Love stops a Japanese teenager from taking his own life

A Twitter user talks of how his mother’s demonstration of love brought him back from the brink, and others share their own stories.

Read More

“Nugget Thieves all over again.” Twitter Japan gets criticism for new anti-suicide feature

Attempt to reach out to desperate people is equated to a spammy McDonald’s campaign.

Read More

Is Pokémon Go helping prevent deaths at one of Japan’s most notorious suicide spots?

The intriguing story is making news around the country.

Read More

Devoted David Bowie fan in Japan attempts to commit suicide following rock legend’s death

The announcement of David Bowie’s passing certainly came as a terrible shock, but perhaps just as shocking is the news of one Japanese fan’s attempted suicide in response to the star’s death.

Read More

Retired Japanese man who saved over 500 from suicide to become star of worldwide documentary

It’s no secret that Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. There are even popular “suicide spots” within Japan where many people go every year to end their lives. One such area is Tojinbo in Fukui Prefecture, where the tall seaside cliffs overlook the ocean, and as many as 100 people every year choose to fall to their deaths.

However that number has been declining in recent years, thanks to Yukio Shige, a 70-year-old retired police officer. He has made it his personal duty to patrol the area and talk to anyone who looks like they may want to jump over the cliffs, and he’s saved over 500 lives in the 11 years he’s been acting as personal seaside lifeguard.

And now he has a new role: the star of the movie that’s being made about his life.

Read More

Shin-Koiwa Station is going all out to prevent human injury and death

Delays on a train are annoying but inevitable, since with such a massive transit system in Japan, not everything is going to work 100 percent of the time. No one wants to see the words “train delay” on the information screen at the station, but even more so, no one wants to see the reason for the delays attributed to “human accidents,” the catch-all term Japan uses when people are found on the tracks while the trains are running.

An unfortunately common station for such accidents is implementing a number of changes in order to curb the rise of these incidents. It’s not just barriers and fences, prevention can start with you! So join us after the jump to see what sort of changes are being made to Shin-Koiwa Station.

Read More