From: ra01+@andrew.cmu.edu (Rikiya Asano)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Teenage Group Suicide in Tokyo
Date: 1 Jan 93 02:32:36 GMT
	<1hvrcjINNgeb@agate.berkeley.edu>
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Freinds,

.

          I was highly troubled in my heart and mind to awake this
afternoon and 
hear that a group of teenage girls jumped off the top of a building
after 'getting high' off of paint thinner. This is a sad, sad incident!
The sniffing of paint thinner is minor when compared to what was really
happened here. Just think about this for a moment. Here it is the
beginning of a New Year and a group of five 'children' decides that
there is nothing to look forward to in the future so let's kill
yourselves. This plan was thought out very well- go to a high building;
sniff some paint thinner; and do a 'Zero'. This was a very sad incident
indeed. All of Nippon should be concerned about this. At these times, I
believe that many more young people will look at the future in this way.
Are you a parent? Are you Japanese? I think that it is very unique how
Japanese can play that homogeneous stuff and then distantance themselves
from happenines like this. When A group a teenage 'Girls' do something
as horrifying as this you know that your society is the 'pits'! Group
suicide! This isn't a ' Jimmy Jonestown' thing. Those people were
deceived into thinking that an early trip to see 'Jesus' was the ticket.
This is completely different!

                            You know what, these girls(three died) might
have paid the price but we as a society will suffer the consequences. I
know that most of you really don't care about Nippon save that it's 
$$$$$! And, as tourists! And, for the Japanese that are out there don't
be surprized that if you come home from school or work one day and hear
that your child or mother/father/sister/brother has committed suicide.
This is what 48 years of this government has done to us. It has made us
inhuman toward each other. Human machines conditioned to compete against
one another. The Japanese society has taken 'Social Darwinism' to new
heights thereby taking themselves to new lows. And, I mean that
literally. It doesn't matter to me who likes me or not. I listen to you
all talking about the things of my country like 'rich people' over a
spot of tea. This is insulting to me. I'am a citizen of this nation and
I find it deplorable as to some of the attitudes here. Nippon is not an
Admusement park! It is a Nation with many deep rooted problems. The
psychological problems
that face Nippon on a macro scale is serious. We as a nation have to set
up institutions that deal effectively with this(suicide) and other
social illnesses
of your nation. If you say that you love Japanese and Nippon and are
only concerned with social problems when they come to your front door
you are a liar and a traitor. You don't love Nippon or Japanese. You
just love yourself! Change
this attitude. Our youth are at stake! I feel sorry for the parents of
these girls. I send my sympathy the the parents and family of the dead
girls. And, It is my hope that the ones who made it take a more positive
look at life. I hope that the future will look brighter for you.