Japan, fall of the rising sun.

BB3Lions

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
17,079
Reaction score
9,099
Points
4,348
Did anyone catch this program?

30,000 suicides a year due to the recession/struggling economy! 30,000...

Unbelievable.
 
What's the population size though ....

Still a very very high figure even if you take into account Japan's total population. For comparison in the UK there were 5,608 reported suicides in 2010 among people aged 15 and over.

So that's roughly 5,608 suicides amongst a population of 63 million in the UK compared to Japan which has a population of 127.6 million but has 30,000 suicides, that is very high in comparison to other countries
 
Ah, wish I'd seen this. What channel was it on?
 
BB3Lions said:
BBC3 mate.

Thanks mate, I'll see if it's repeated or on iplayer.

I've always found Japanese culture and society to be very interesting.
 
30,000 suicides a year due to the recession/struggling economy! 30,000...

The recession has increased the rate, but they've had a high suicide rate for a long time. In the last 50 years they've roughly had a suicide rate of 18 per 100-thousand population.
I guess it goes back to the countries history and culture. Some Japanese even think in certain cases it's a morally responsible decision :eek:
 
It is.
Japan has been slippign for a long time to the poitn where a large number of Japanese companies don't manufacture in Japan at all but only in China.
 
Sad, why would they think low interest rate and QE would solve the problem in the first place.......
 
Did anyone catch this program?

30,000 suicides a year due to the recession/struggling economy! 30,000...

Unbelievable.

Same number of premature deaths in the UK each year due to (predominantly) smoke from diesel engines.
 
Agreed. Well John?
 
The best I have found is that the figure is more like 13,000 premature deaths

Short overview here: UK air pollution 'may kill 13,000 each year' - Health News - NHS Choices

The actual full length paper that was published in Environmental Science and Technology: Public Health Impacts of Combustion Emissions in the United Kingdom - Environmental Science & Technology (ACS Publications)

The study was carried out by researchers from MIT and was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
 
I'm glad finally 'the truth' is out about diesel & its damage.

It's proven diesel airborne pollution causes cancer, those high at risk are commuters, truck drivers etc.

Cleaner diesel is needed as they'll never ban it.

Back on topic, I've started watching Japanese news since this BBC program, let's say they must be government run.....
 
Can you provide proof of that claim please I would like to know where you got that stat from!

Agreed. Well John?

Just how difficult is it to use Google?
How much cleaner is Autogas than diesel?


The black smoke that we see coming from diesel vehicles cause over 20,000 premature deaths a year. By replacing a diesel engine with an Autogas equivalent, over 90% less of this particulate matter would be emitted.
from
LPG frequently asked questions

First hit I got when I put in the keywords.

I suppose now your going to quibble that its only 20,000 premature deaths rather than 30,000?
 
But when talking about the astonishingly high suicide rates in japan, you also have to remember that that there is a huge cultural difference between the West and Japan.

This from Wiki:

Suicide has never been criminalized in Japan.[clarification needed] Japanese society's attitude toward suicide has been termed "tolerant," and on many occasions a suicide is seen as a morally responsible action.[9] Public discussion of the high rate of suicide also focuses on blaming the economic hardship faced by middle-aged men (see sarakin). However, the rise of Internet suicide websites and increasing rate of suicide pacts (shinjū) have raised concern from the public and media, which consider the pacts "thoughtless."[9]
...........
During Japan's imperial years, suicide was common within the military. This included kamikaze, kaiten and suicide when a battle was lost. The samurai way of glory was through death, and ritual suicide was seen as something honorable.

.....

The cultural heritage of suicide as a noble tradition still has some resonance. While being investigated for an expenses scandal, Cabinet minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka took his life in 2007. The governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, described him as a "true samurai" for preserving his honour. [27]

My highlights.

So to many, its a culturally acceptable way of dealing with personal problems.

I did rather appreciate this bit from the same article though.
Rail companies will charge the families of those who commit suicide a fee depending on the severity of disrupted traffic
 
The best I have found is that the figure is more like 13,000 premature deaths

Best? Strange way of putting it, but I guess we know what you mean.
Perhaps re-phrasing it to

The most sympathetic to the oil and motor manufacturing companies that I have found is .........?
 
johntheexpat said:
Best? Strange way of putting it, but I guess we know what you mean.
Perhaps re-phrasing it to

The most sympathetic to the oil and motor manufacturing companies that I have found is .........?

:facepalm:

Er no, that is not what I meant at all, I was trying to find figures closest to yours (by finding an academic study in support of your statement!) so no, clearly you have absolutely no idea what I meant
 
Last edited:
...so no, clearly you have absolutely no idea what I meant

I know what you meant, but I've taken my hair shirt off now, so I apologise for having a little dig.

I doubt very much that you'll find an academic study for an accurate number. I always assumed the vast majority of the premature deaths were people who were close to death and bad air brings the Grim Reaper sooner than if they had access to a clean room and purified air. So actually attributing exact numbers can only be a statistical 'trick' that will be open to fairly wide margins of error.

But some of those deaths will be avoidable and not particularly premature. But that will be a much less dramatic number.
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom