Internet suicide? Misleading Reporting?
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060316p2a00m0na001000c.html
"Four people suspected of committing group suicide were found dead inside a parked car Wednesday in Japan, bringing to 13 the number of people believed to have taken their lives together in the past week, police and news reports said.
The bodies of three men and one woman, all believed to be in their 30s, were found in a car parked on a mountain road in Shizuoka, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Police suspected suicide, the official said, without elaborating.
Authorities said they suspected the four died from fumes as several charcoal burners were found inside the car, which had its windows sealed with tape, according to Kyodo News agency.
Their deaths were the latest in a recent spate of group suicides in Japan set up between strangers over the Internet -- though it wasn't immediately clear how the latest group of victims met.
The bodies of nine people were discovered in two separate cases of group suicide last week. In one case, three people died after inhaling charcoal fumes in a car.
A record 91 people died in 34 Internet-linked suicide cases last year, up from 55 people in 19 cases in 2004, the National Police Agency reported last month. The number of Internet suicide pacts has almost tripled from 2003, when the agency started keeping records.
Suicide pacts have been made over the Internet since at least the late 1990s, and have been reported everywhere from Guam to the Netherlands.
But especially large numbers have occurred in Japan, where suicide rates are among the world's highest.
Often designed with an ominous, pitch-black background, the Internet sites host chat rooms spilling over with death wishes and ideas on how best to take your own life.
They appear to be frequented largely by young people, some still in their early teens, who are troubled by bullying, romantic breakups, abusive relatives or a disconnect with family.
Politicians have suggested that suicide sites be regulated or shut down. In October last year, police launched a crackdown with the cooperation of Internet service providers.
Since then, authorities acting on tips intervened in 12 cases, preventing 14 people from killing themselves, national police said last month...
... Internet-related suicides still represent a small percentage of suicides in Japan. More than 32,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2004, the bulk of them older Japanese suffering from sickness or financial woes... (AP)"
March 16, 2006
Internet suicide or inaccurate or misleading reporting? Read this carefully and it seems that "Police and news reports said"....""Four people suspected of committing group suicide were found dead inside a parked car Wednesday in Japan" seems to be the case that "Police" and unspecified "news reports" have stated that a group of four people have committed suicided together. However the part of the first paragraph that claims this brings "...to 13 the number of people believed to have taken their lives together in the past week" appears to be nothing more than an unsubstantiated belief lacking in both quoted sources or official comment. It is not stated who believes this. A lot of reports on Internet suicide are based on 'beliefs' like this. Anyway, read carefully for yourself and, based on the content of the article, you decide if this group suicide is in fact an "internet suicide pact" or simply yet another example of misleading reporting on a very serious subject? - Timi
"Four people suspected of committing group suicide were found dead inside a parked car Wednesday in Japan, bringing to 13 the number of people believed to have taken their lives together in the past week, police and news reports said.
The bodies of three men and one woman, all believed to be in their 30s, were found in a car parked on a mountain road in Shizuoka, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Police suspected suicide, the official said, without elaborating.
Authorities said they suspected the four died from fumes as several charcoal burners were found inside the car, which had its windows sealed with tape, according to Kyodo News agency.
Their deaths were the latest in a recent spate of group suicides in Japan set up between strangers over the Internet -- though it wasn't immediately clear how the latest group of victims met.
The bodies of nine people were discovered in two separate cases of group suicide last week. In one case, three people died after inhaling charcoal fumes in a car.
A record 91 people died in 34 Internet-linked suicide cases last year, up from 55 people in 19 cases in 2004, the National Police Agency reported last month. The number of Internet suicide pacts has almost tripled from 2003, when the agency started keeping records.
Suicide pacts have been made over the Internet since at least the late 1990s, and have been reported everywhere from Guam to the Netherlands.
But especially large numbers have occurred in Japan, where suicide rates are among the world's highest.
Often designed with an ominous, pitch-black background, the Internet sites host chat rooms spilling over with death wishes and ideas on how best to take your own life.
They appear to be frequented largely by young people, some still in their early teens, who are troubled by bullying, romantic breakups, abusive relatives or a disconnect with family.
Politicians have suggested that suicide sites be regulated or shut down. In October last year, police launched a crackdown with the cooperation of Internet service providers.
Since then, authorities acting on tips intervened in 12 cases, preventing 14 people from killing themselves, national police said last month...
... Internet-related suicides still represent a small percentage of suicides in Japan. More than 32,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2004, the bulk of them older Japanese suffering from sickness or financial woes... (AP)"
March 16, 2006
Internet suicide or inaccurate or misleading reporting? Read this carefully and it seems that "Police and news reports said"....""Four people suspected of committing group suicide were found dead inside a parked car Wednesday in Japan" seems to be the case that "Police" and unspecified "news reports" have stated that a group of four people have committed suicided together. However the part of the first paragraph that claims this brings "...to 13 the number of people believed to have taken their lives together in the past week" appears to be nothing more than an unsubstantiated belief lacking in both quoted sources or official comment. It is not stated who believes this. A lot of reports on Internet suicide are based on 'beliefs' like this. Anyway, read carefully for yourself and, based on the content of the article, you decide if this group suicide is in fact an "internet suicide pact" or simply yet another example of misleading reporting on a very serious subject? - Timi
