Despite Japan being the world’s second largest economy, suicide rate here is among the highest throughout the world. Annual suicide deaths have never been below 30 thousand over the past decade. Percentage-wise, it is 20 people per one hundred thousand population. In 2008 Japan ranked eighth in terms of suicide rate, with former Soviet countries and a former satellite communist country rounding out the top ten. 

 The news today reports that a recent investigation into causes of train delays in and around Tokyo has found that the biggest cause last year was train suicide, accounting for more than half of about 40 thousand delays. 

　Train companies have figured a way to address this problem: They are replacing red lights usually installed at stations with blue lights, as blue is believed to have a “calming effect” and thus could deter people from committing suicide. 

 

In fact train delays are almost an everyday thing here and the term “jinshin-jiko” (train accident involving human injury or death) is one of the most heard 4-moji jukugo (4-Kanji-character idiom) these days. Train workers’ jargon for gathering up mangled and scattered body parts after an accident is “tuna disposal (maguro shori),” and it’s not uncommon that travelers to Japan are unfortunate enough to witness the scene and be traumatized for the rest of their life. 

 On a side note, Japan will no longer be the world’s second largest economy in a few years, maybe next year at the earliest. China is going to take over that position. It is believed to surpass even the US around year 2040.