This is really a place to avoid, the forest of Aokigahara (青木ヶ原) , also known as the Sea of Trees (樹海 Jukai), is an old, dense and dark forest bordering Mount Fuji, so dense and thick that from just a few kilometers inside it no sounds can be heard other than those produced by the forest itself.
In 2002, 78 bodies were found within the forest, replacing the previous record of 73 in 1998. It is a popular place for suicides, due in some part to the novel Kuroi Jukai (Black Forest), which ends with the lovers of the novel committing suicide in the forest. The high rate of suicide has led officials to place signs within the forest, urging those who have gone there specifically with the purpose of suicide in mind to seek help and not kill themselves.
"The perfect place to die." That's how Aokigahara was described in Wataru Tsurumui's bestselling book The Complete Manual of Suicide. Aokigahara is famous throughout Japan as a popular spot for those taking their final journey. By May of 2006, at least 16 new suicides had already been found. More than a few of them were even carrying copies of Tsurumui's book. No one knows how many bodies go undiscovered.
Behind this, there is evidence to suggest that growing numbers of Japanese people are clinically depressed. Statistics from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry suggest that one in fifteen suffer from depression at some point in their lives.
In 2002, 78 bodies were found within the forest, replacing the previous record of 73 in 1998. It is a popular place for suicides, due in some part to the novel Kuroi Jukai (Black Forest), which ends with the lovers of the novel committing suicide in the forest. The high rate of suicide has led officials to place signs within the forest, urging those who have gone there specifically with the purpose of suicide in mind to seek help and not kill themselves.
"The perfect place to die." That's how Aokigahara was described in Wataru Tsurumui's bestselling book The Complete Manual of Suicide. Aokigahara is famous throughout Japan as a popular spot for those taking their final journey. By May of 2006, at least 16 new suicides had already been found. More than a few of them were even carrying copies of Tsurumui's book. No one knows how many bodies go undiscovered.
Behind this, there is evidence to suggest that growing numbers of Japanese people are clinically depressed. Statistics from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry suggest that one in fifteen suffer from depression at some point in their lives.
Japanese society puts more pressure on individuals to show outward happiness and this may explain why depression is more likely to result in suicide in Japan
There is also another factor helping the suicides, Internet. The Internet inJapan
I was really surprised to know this side of the japanese society, I was always thinking that they are the happiest people on earth, since they have almost everything to make them happy, peace, wealth and prosperity and not many crimes! Ok, it seems that I was wrong.
There is also another factor helping the suicides, Internet. The Internet in
I was really surprised to know this side of the japanese society, I was always thinking that they are the happiest people on earth, since they have almost everything to make them happy, peace, wealth and prosperity and not many crimes! Ok, it seems that I was wrong.
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Interesting! I didn't know that such place exists in Japan. I will never go there :)!
Japan has the highest number of suicides in the world. In Japan times there is an interesting article analyzing suicide in Japan: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071120i1.html
Since there is a book for teaching people how to suicide in Japan, the only thing to expect is a high number of suicides. I wonder why they allow this book to be sold??? I think this one of the few things that you can see only here in Japan.
A book to teach suicide!!! You are right, this can be seen only in Japan.
A friend told me once the following: A law asserts that people are responsible to clean the place after they commit suicides!!!!! I am not sure this is true or not. But I think in Japan, this can happen!
A friend told me once the following: A law asserts that people are responsible to clean the place after they commit suicides!!!!! I am not sure this is true or not. But I think in Japan, this can happen!
That's for train jumpers; they send the clean up bill to the family.
Salam, I saw about this forest on a T.V. show. Americans seem to love these type of shows around Halloween. Could you please go to this forest at night and tell me what is there?
Wafae Hanyn from Morocco
shokran
Does anyone know if Kuroi Jukai (Black Forest) is available in english? Please e-mail me to let me know, my e-mail is retnicko@gmail.com, thanks.
Thanks for writing this.
maybe we should visit that forest more often and have picnics (without kids and with medical staff or people with strong hearts. Just to breath air into the forest and disturb the people willing to commit suicide. It sounds like a nice forest to me, shame that it is a hot spot for those taking their own life.
I would like to put forward a perspective on the real reasons behind the unacceptably high suicide Japan from Japan and so will limit my comments to what I know about here in Japan but would first like to suggest that western media reports on suicide rates in Asian countries should try harder to get away from the tendency to orientalize the serious and preventable problem of increased suicide rates here over the last 10 years by reverting to stereotypical ideas of Asian people in general.
Mental health professionals in Japan have long known that the prime causes for the unnecessarily high suicide rate in Japan are unemployment, the effects of bankruptcies, and the increasing levels of stress on businessmen and other salaried workers who have suffered enormous hardship in Japan since the bursting of the stock market bubble here that peaked around 1997. Until that year Japan had an annual suicide of rate figures between 22,000 and 24,000 each year. Following the bursting of the stock market and the long term economic downturn that has followed here since the suicide rate in 1998 increased by around 35% and since 1998 the number of people killing themselves each year in Japan has consistently remained well over 30,000 each and every year to the present day.
The current worldwide recession is of course impacting Japan too, so unless very proactive and well funded local and nation wide suicide prevention programs and initiatives are immediately it is very difficult to foresee the governments previously stated intention to reduce the suicide rate to around 23,000 by the year 2016 being achievable. On the contrary the numbers, and the human suffering and the depression and misery that the people who become part of these numbers, have to endure may well stay at the current levels that have persistently been the case here for the last ten years. It could even get worse unless even more is done to prevent this terrible loss of life.
During these last ten years of these relentlessly high annual suicide rate numbers the English media seems in the main to have done little more than have someone goes through the files and do a story on the so-called suicide forest or internet suicide clubs and copycat suicides (whether cheap heating fuel like charcoal briquettes or even cheaper household cleaning chemicals) without focusing on the bigger picture and need for effective action and solutions. Economic hardship, bankruptcies and unemployment have been the main cause of suicide in Japan over the last 10 years, as the well detailed reports behind the suicide rate numbers that have been issued every year until now by the National Police Agency in Japan show only to clearly if any journalist is prepared to learn Japanese or get a bilingual researcher to do the research to get to the real heart of the tragic story of the long term and unnecessarily high suicide rate problem in Japan.
Useful telephone number for Japanese residents of Japan who speak Japanese and are feeling depressed or suicidal: Inochi no Denwa (Lifeline Telephone Service)：
Japan: 0120-738-556 Tokyo: 3264 4343
Andrew Grimes
Tokyo Counseling Services
http://tokyocounseling.com/english/
http://tokyocounseling.com/jp/
http://www.counselingjapan.com
I am curious about scary, paranormal places, but to find out about this tragic place, it breaks my heart. I am Canadian-Japanese and Andrew forgot one general age group with a high suicide rate as well. The youth are under the worst pressure to get the best marks in school, to get into the right schools, etc. Although I was born and raised in Canada, I always felt that my best was not good enough. I did get depressed because I was told that I was stupid (even though most of my marks were in the 80's). When I found out in University that I had a learning disorder, I was told that at least we know why you are stupid. If you are not a strong person (mentally) and have low self esteem, confidense and are told from a very young age that you are stupid, you will grow up believing that. Most of us learn to cope and push past this or even use this to push us harder, some however do not. I have recently found some sort of peace and happiness. Forgiveness, I always have had. I have thought of suicide growing up and have come close. But I always found something to be greatful for, hope. Hope for a better tomorrow. I'm just sorry that those people lost all hope and had no one to turn to or listen to them. You can't blame people committing suicide on a book, or a movie, etc. People have to help people. We have to change the stigma that seeking help for any mental illness is not bad, or weak. Councilling, thearapy just talking about it would help so much. All I can say is this, treat everyone (yes even the bullies of the world) with compassion, kindness and treat them like how you wo
uld be treated.
Hey there, I thought I’d comment as I recently visited Aokigahara forest and spent 6 hours exploring it with two friends and three cameras. I compiled most of the video footage + photos along with bits and pieces from my journal to construct the story of my experience there. Please check it out and let me know what you think! (follow the link)
http://endofthegame.net/2012/02/20/aokigahara/
Also Andrew Grimes, thank you for that insightful comment, it warms my heart to know there are people who are as passionate about understanding the causes for suicide as you are. With your permission I'd like to post your comment on my blog post to raise awareness, email me at caramelloham@gmail.com. Thanks!
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Clover
www.n8fan.net
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