From Gruesome Murders to Suicide Websites, Japan’s Government is Propelled to Take Action
In late August, Japanese police discovered the remains of nine mutilated bodies hidden in a man’s basement in Tokyo, originally only in search of a missing young woman. Upon the discovery of the various organs and fragments of flesh tossed away in his trash, the police accused Takahiro Shirahishi on the eve of October 31. Shirahishi eventually confirmed his culpability in these crimes.
Before the authorities’ arrival, South China Morning Post reported that Shirahishi had attempted to supposedly cover up suspicious odors by layering cat litter over the remains.
In response to the murders, neighbors struggled to come to terms with such violence in their tranquil and unsuspecting community of Zama. “It’s really cruel,” one of the shocked neighbors said, “He used a saw to dismember the bodies or something. He must be abnormal to have done such things.”
The victims who originally intended to kill themselves gathered in Shirahishi’s apartment via a ruse set up through a suicide website. They were persuaded by Shirahishi to commit suicide in his house.
Rather than providing aid to the mentally unstable, suicide websites are sources of encouragement for Japanese citizens of all ages, especially for the young generation. According to a recent 2015 UK study, suicide websites had been accessed by 20 percent of adolescents with records of suicidal tendencies or self-harm who sought either information on logistics or companionship for their acts.
As mentioned by the head of Tokyo-based suicide prevention center Toru Igawa, the fear of dying alone used to be a dominant feature persuading people tempted by suicide to find alternative solutions. However, in light of these relatively new websites providing easy companionship for such actions, offering further comfort to individuals in question, suicide has become convenient to many.
"It may now be easier to overcome that hurdle after finding online companions," Igawa said. Inevitably, the diffusion of websites in such sinister nature arises many questions regarding Japan’s social status.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshide Suga has stressed the intention of increasing preventative measures of such online platforms after the Zama crimes.
According to BBC, the Japanese government has already taken measures to limit the use of online suicide platforms. Although many of these websites are widely acknowledged by the public and ever-more common across online media, numerous branches are often hidden beneath social networks such as twitter and facebook and therefore hard to identify.
"The use of Twitter — a social networking site that is difficult to keep an eye on — to exploit the cries for help by victims who wrote about committing suicide is despicable," Suga said.
Notwithstanding the government is prompted to take them down, the increasing popularity of these sites will continue to complicate the police’s effort.
Takahiro Chirahishi admitted to his crimes
Credit: BBC News via AFP