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Kuni Takahashi
Residents of Japan's northeast coast have suffered through three separate but intertwined disasters since a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast on March 11.
The data comes as a family prepares to file the first lawsuit against the Tokyo Electric Power Co. over the suicide of Hamako Watanabe, a 58-year-old woman who set herself on fire in wake of the disaster.
In 2011, 55 people committed suicide, with another six cases reported since the beginning of 2012. Suicides linked to the Fukushima nuclear accident are included in the numbers, but attribution to the nuclear crisis has been omitted due to privacy concerns. The data was collected using local police reports since last June.
“We are collecting this information and making it available within the boundary of the victims' privacy to help their work and research," said Ryoko Hagiwara, of the Cabinet Office’s suicide prevention task force. "Unless we understand the actual situation, we cannot come up with any countermeasures."
The victims' age, gender and occupation vary. The causes for the suicides include financial, health and family-related troubles.
Watanabe’s family will seek $910,000 in damages in the death of Hamako Watanabe from TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, according to The Japan Times and The Mainichi. They plan to file the lawsuit – which would be the first over a suicide linked to the nuclear crisis – on May 18 in Fukushima District Court.
Family to sue over suicide after Japan tsunami, nuke meltdown
Her husband, Mikio Watanabe, 61, said his wife suffered depression in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster.
The couple lived about 25 miles from the Fukushima power plant and their home had been designated as being within a planned evacuation zone. She killed herself at a garbage incinerator after going back to clean the house in Kawamata, The Japan Times reported.
The couple had moved around after the 9.0 quake and ensuing tsunamis struck, triggering meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and leaving nearly 16,000 dead.
As of last Saturday, Japan had shut down the last of its 50 usable nuclear reactors amid strong opposition from the public and local governments to keeping them up and running, The Associated Press reported.
Hamako Watanabe had been a poultry worker until her workplace was shuttered after the tsunami, and she began to show signs of insomnia and had a poor appetite.
A group of lawyers representing victims of the nuclear crisis said her depression and suicide were due to the nuclear disaster, The Mainichi reported.
'Can it be the end of nuclear power?' Japan to shut down last reactor
Tepco declined to make comment to the newspapers, though the family notified the utility on April 20 of its intention to file the lawsuit. Tepco said in a letter dated May 1 that it would consider the matter.
The government earmarked $46 million after the quake and tsunami for local governments to spend on suicide prevention efforts.
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after world war II was over there was alot of suicides in japan. This is how some japanese handle extremely horrible situation and u cant blame them either
Sure I can blame them. When life knocks you down you need to get back up on your feet. IMO They need to do something to change this part of their culture.
UUHHH Yes! Yes i can.
Imagine all that was required was to move the generators off the ground far enough to prevent flooding.
Funny thing we have the same problem in the US and we are not fixing the generator flooding issue.
"....there was alot of suicides in japan"
I wonder when"alot" will become an actual word?
okay lokay
I don't know. Maybe when grammar-nazi becomes a word.
All I can say is a quote from my daddy: "If yall find me hangin', you best be huntin somebody cuz I didn't do it!" Sad that people get to the point of such hopelessness.
It is very unfortunate that the Japanese have to go through these rough times. Hopefully, things get better for them.
Suicide is much more prevalent in Japan. Historically, there is seppuku and jigai (forms of ritualistic suicide), gyokusai (suicide attack or banzai charge), the kamikaze (divine wind suicide aircraft), and currently more modern suicides due to unemployment (or conversely overwork), depression, inability to marry, shame, dishonor, bankruptcy, and so on and so forth. Japan's suicide rate remains one of the highest in the world.
My wife, a PhD psychologist read this article and forwarded me an excellent article from one of her sources. I thought I would share the link for those seeking to understand more about Japanese depression and suicide:
http://www.mindofmodernity.com/crazy-like-us-part-4-depression-in-japan
It appears that suicide in Japan has different cultural attributes and different relationships to depression compared with the US. It always helps to look for additional data to help understand what we read in the media.
I'm honestly surprised there were only 60 suicides recorded.
You are correct about the deeply ingrained cultural values surrounding suicide in Japan. This has been an epidemic they have been dealing with for a very long time.
Have all the supporters of Nuclear Energy be required to live next to the plants they say are safe. Yes, their families too. Yes, next to spent nuclear fuel dumps too. When they melt down the plants produce the worst poison ever imagined in history. Yes, worse than coal and oil.
Why is it the power plants fault I don't understand. 60 is way to many 1 is to many. They could do a better job then that. Time heals all wounds.
Can you imagine seeing your whole life lost in front of your eyes and there is not a thing you can do day after day. If you older and your entire family might be lost and you are so alone I can see that happening so very easily.
MAY GOD GIVE ALL OF THESE INNOCENT PEOPLE THE STRENGTH TO GO THROUGH THIS REALLY TOUGH TIME NOW AND FOR ALL TIME AS I AM SURE HE WILL!!!
Carol-448944 SAID:
"MAY GOD GIVE ALL OF THESE INNOCENT PEOPLE THE STRENGTH TO GO THROUGH THIS REALLY TOUGH TIME NOW AND FOR ALL TIME AS I AM SURE HE WILL!!!"
And let us thank God for sending them the eartquake and tsunami, and all the misery it is causing.
it's Tough to face disasters, whether it's man made or nature made..faith/ belief helps, however people helping people in good ways is the Answer..the Japanese are remarkable people with strong resilience..statistics would sure show more of a grim outcome elsewhere........
I can see how three unbelievably huge disasters that take all you have would make you want to die, instead of watching your family starve to death with nowhere to go and no one to help. I'm not saying it is the answer, but their culture does not seem to see it as a bad way to go. God be with them, and if any of us can do one small thing, it adds up, and we always can all pray.
45th parallel said:
"God be with them, and if any of us can do one small thing, it adds up, and we always can all pray."
Sure. And while you're at it, don't forget to thank your "God" for sending the Japanese people the earthquake and tsunami and all the misery they cause.
Recent report in from the NOAA.
-Post-Tsumani suicide stats-
Japanese: 60
Dolphins: 0
Is that supposed to be funny? It's not.
There is certainly nothing funny about suicide. I have known a number of people who have tried to commit suicide and have had several people in my family who have actually done it. Suicide geatly affects those who are left behind, often leaving them with guilt, unanswered questions, and terrible sadness. In the face of a disaster, suicides would continue to add to the death toll that the disaster itself caused-though they might feel more tragic to a family because they could possibly have been preventable. While it is true that suicide has historically been viewed differently in Japanese culture than in the US, it is apparent from this article that the people of Japan would like to do something about this problem. We can only hope and pray that the Japanese people find a way to deal with this terrible further outcome of the ongoing tragedy they are facing.
The Japanese and Dolphins are mortal enemies...
...I learned that on South Park.
Fahkka you dolpheen! Fahkka you wvhael!
IF YOU COULD SEE what nuclear exposure looks like and feels like, You would want all nuclear plants shut down they are a danger to all, it's not a matter of where but when these nuclear plans will start to leak out and melt down. WE ARE ALL AT RISK.
This family must have been exposed to too many American ways. Why sue the power plant? These were natural disasters. Sue Mother Nature.
Laura-313822 said:
"Why sue the power plant? These were natural disasters. Sue Mother Nature."
Really?
Did Mother Nature site the plant in an area known for seismic activity?
Did Mother Nature put the emergency generators in the flood-prone location?
Or did Tokyo Electric Power Company make the mistakes?
Lokay,
None of those factors were hidden from the general public. I'm sure they were all happy to have affordable energy.
Isn't the entire country of Japan pretty much known for seismic activity?
"Isn't the entire country of Japan pretty much known for seismic activity?"
Exactly. That's my point. The reactors weren't safe anywhere in Japan and you're saying they knew that?
$46 million to...the homeless? The destitute? The lost? The jobless? $46 million to people who will never see a dime, nor help.
Truelly I feel for the family of a lost loved one, but sueing due a suicide. I'm not a lawyer, but I can pretty much tell that nothing will be gained by it.
"Did the deceased seek medical help for depression. Were they taking any medication towards fixing the depression state. What actions did you take to buoy the emotional state of the deceased...."
The number of questions that a lawyer can ask about a person that committed suicide is a long list indeed. Even answering in a negative conitation can pretty much lose your chance of ever winning a lawsuit that was directly related to a suicide.
Japan Grapples with Post-Tsunami Suicides
Headline could also read:
Japan Grapples with Nuclear Contamination related Suicides
I work as a missionary carpenter in Japan, and all I can say is they need Jesus! We are seeing great breakthroughs is the spread of the gospel, it breaks my heart to see such hurting people and the suicides that number in the thousands each year. Jumping in front of trains is the most common way of ending it all, but as they end it all, the family is devastated from that day forward. I am glad these reactors are shutting down, the Japanese are very intelligent and I am surprised they have not come up with other break-through technology in energy resources. Maybe this will motivate them.
LAS-3912994 said:
"They need Jesus"
Jesus schmesus. Get real.
QUOTE: "I work as a missionary carpenter in Japan, and all I can say is they need Jesus!"
No, they need homes, jobs and communities. It is offensive to promise that a "religious" (some may say 'imaginary') figure can take the place of the things people need to survive in the Real world. Oh, BTW, couldn't you say "they need Buddha"? Missionaries all over the world are trying to replace people's traditional beliefs with Christianity. Not good.