Is "Suicide Club" coming true?

[BTM]

Okay, I haven't seen it yet, but I'm told Suicide Club, is about a future in which massive numbers of young people are suddenly finding it "hip" to commit mass suicide in Japan.  (Films on my netflix queue, but haven't gotten around to it.)  

Starting to wonder though if maybe it's starting to come true...

I mean, I know Japan has always had a high suicide rate, but still, NINE at one time?  Wow...


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060310/wl_nm/japan_suicides_dc

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese police are investigating two separate cases of suspected group suicide after nine people were found dead in parked cars, the latest in a series of such cases.

Five men and one woman were found dead in a station wagon in Saitama prefecture, just north of Tokyo, a police spokesman said.

He noted that charcoal stoves were found in the car but declined to give further details, citing ongoing investigations. The charcoal generates carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas.

Separately, a man and two women were found dead in a sealed car parked in the foothills of a mountain in Aomori prefecture, some 570 km (280 miles) north of Tokyo, a police spokesman said.

In this case too, charcoal stoves were found in the car with the three, who were undergoing treatment for mental illness and may have met at hospital, an Aomori police spokesman said.

The number of Japanese killing themselves in group suicides has risen steadily in recent years, and in many cases the people have met through the Internet, although police declined to say whether this was the case with the six people in Saitama.

In 2003, 34 died in group suicides, rising to 55 in 2004 and 91 last year.

That compares with a total of 32,325 suicides in 2004, the latest year for which figures are available -- down from the record-high 34,427 in 2003 but second only to Russia among Group of Eight industrialized nations.

According to     World Health Organization data, Japan's suicide rate was 24.1 per 100,000 people in 2000, compared with 39.4 in Russia and 10.4 in the United States.

No religious prohibition exists against taking one's own life in Japan, where suicide was once a form of ritual atonement for samurai warriors and in modern times is a way to escape failure or save loved ones from embarrassment or financial loss.

[Neville]

Teenagers in Japan are subjected to extremely high levels of stress when compared to westerners. I've read about certain social phenomena that so far are localized in that country. One is the "suicide clubs", the other is teenagers that virtually refuse to go out of their rooms at any time, and sometimes live there for years.

Part of the problem is that their society is so extremely competitive that they suffer from constant stress, they are constantly reminded that they must be #1 in order to succeed, and some of them just can't take it.

[plan9superfan]

"Part of the problem is that their society is so extremely competitive that they suffer from constant stress, they are constantly reminded that they must be #1 in order to succeed, and some of them just can't take it."


As if THAT didn't happen in the U.S.A., "the finest country in the entire world"!

[Neville]

Believe me, it's really over the top there, and we're talking of very young children. The documentary I saw on the kids that would not leave their rooms showed how many Japanese children, after school, go to reinforcement classes that sometimes occupy all night.

[plan9superfan]

Come on!

The United States hails itself as "the greatest super power of the entire world"!

They entire history is forged by either brutally (and competitively) invading other territory, or reaching perfection to defeat a threat to their civilization.

Belive me, The USA has the world "graining competetiveness into young people" far worse than Japan!

[The Conqueroo]

It's a good thing that Japan's a mostly Buddhist Nation.Here In The US,you'd get former Teen Idol and "Growing Pains"Star Kirk Cameron explaining how 'because they listened to Ozzy Osbourne(Former 'Prince O'Darkness turned 'Prince O'Pathetic'!!"SHARON!!JACK!!KELLY!!GET THESE GAWDAMMED DOGS OUTA HERE!!''SHUT UP OZZIE!!');Insane Clown Posse (Bozo's Bastard Sons.)and SnoopIceTDogCubeTray and were hypnotized by "Satanic Lyrics and/or Influences that caused them to 'Catch The Night Train To The Big Adios'on TBN!!!

[Scottie]

Conqueroo wrote:

"It's a good thing that Japan's a mostly Buddhist Nation.Here In The US,you'd get former Teen Idol and "Growing Pains"Star Kirk Cameron explaining how 'because they listened to Ozzy Osbourne(Former 'Prince O'Darkness turned 'Prince O'Pathetic'!!"SHARON!!JACK!!KELLY!!GET THESE GAWDAMMED DOGS OUTA HERE!!''SHUT UP OZZIE!!');Insane Clown Posse (Bozo's Bastard Sons.)and SnoopIceTDogCubeTray and were hypnotized by "Satanic Lyrics and/or Influences that caused them to 'Catch The Night Train To The Big Adios'on TBN!!!"

>
>
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Could you annunciate a little better next post? I really don't like having to sift through your broken space bar and punctuation syndrome. And what does Buddhism have to do with American Idol or anything else you mentioned? I'm no big fan of what you're talking about either, but I just don't see your connection.

[The Conqueroo]

Okay.#1:I wasn't referring to "American Idol".I was referring to 80's Teen Idol/Former "Growing Pains"Actor/Born Again Christian Kirk Cameron.He hosts a show on the TBN Network with some Australian Evangalist where they beat the same ol'Dead Horse about things like The Theory of Evolution;School Prayer and Satanic Influences in Rock Music.A Couple of Weeks ago,they were talking about how some Heavy Metal Singer claimed to be a Member of the Church of Satan and how somebody got killed or raped after an  Insane Clown Posse Concert.Stuff like that.#2I'm sorry if my practice of not spelling everything in Capital Letters bothers you,as well as my Sarcastic Sidebars.Just put on your Big Boy Underwear and deal with it!!#3:Ever since Dewey Phillips played Elvis's Recording of "That's All Right Mama"on WHBQ in Memphis in 1954,people have claimed that Rock Music has (at various and sundry times)caused riots;contained Satanic Messages and encouraged 'Secular Humanism'(whatever the hell that is)among other things.#4:I'm not talking bad about either Christianity or Buddhism.(Althouggh once when I accidentally hit my Thumb,I hollerred "Jesus,Buddha and Mohammed!!".)What I was trying to suggest is that you never hear Buddhist Monks come up with outrageous claims about certain types of Music.#5:You know what happens if you play a Country Record backwards?You get your Wife back;you get your Job back;you get your Truck back;you get your Life back;etal.!!#6:I hope that cleared everything up for you.If not,Tough!!

[Fearless Freep]

but I just don't see your connection.

I'd be happy to see some puncuation

[The Conqueroo]

I Did Use Punctuation.

[dean]

This thread [punctuation arguments notwithstanding] reminds me of the book 'You only live twice' which was a Bond movie, but the book is very different to the movie.

In the book there is a castle which has been built in some area in Japan, in which good ol' Bond bad guy Blofeld has managed to get government support to house some really exotic plants at this castle.  Thing is; every single plant is poisonous and the whole castle is really dangerous.

This then lends itself to people coming from all over the country to kill themselves in high numbers at this castle, since it's a beautiful way to go [in most cases] what with the pretty killer trees and lovely boiling hot mud pits.

Anyway, this thread just got me thinking about this great book.  Carry on...

[The Conqueroo]

I Think That Ian Fleming Had An Agreement Stating That The Producers Were Free To Add All The "Bells&Whistles"To The Bond Movies.

[plan9superfan]

Sounds like the movie was much cooler than the book.

Specially because we are talking about the Sean Connery Bond here.

[dean]

plan9superfan Wrote:
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> Sounds like the movie was much cooler than the
> book.
>
> Specially because we are talking about the Sean
> Connery Bond here.


Sure I can't remember much about that movie other than a giant volcano [sure that was cool] and Bond will always be Connery no matter who is playing him at the moment [regardless of how good or bad they are] but the book was a definite good one, what with Bond beheading Blofeld with a samurai sword or some such, and it was a hoot.  

[The Conqueroo]

The Newest 007,Daniel Craig,Is Getting A Lot Of Bad Publicity By Bond Fans.One Reason Is That He's Blonde.But Then Again,So Was Roger Moore.Timothy Dalton;Pierce Brosnan and Of Course,Sean Connery Wrre Dark Haired.Look,As LOng as He Dresses Nice;Saves The World;Has A Lot Of Cool Gadgets;Is Of English;Irish;Scots or Welsh Descent and Gets The Girl,Who Cares??