The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-10-04
TRIED HAR| KARI
Counsellor Akiyama At.
tempts Suicide.
Result of Mental Troubles - Not
Caused by Japan-HaWaii
Controversy.

Late Japanese papers contain &C
counts of the attempted suicide Of
Counsellor Akiyama of the Japanese
Foreign Office on August 20 last. Mr..
Akiyama departed from the usual GUS
tom in such matters and instead Of
using short dagger he utilized
sword three feet long. He succeeding
in inflicting two serious wounds, one
near the jugular and one in the abdo-
men. The act was committed in his
own apartments about o'clock in the
afternoon. AS he had been complain
ing on returning from the foreign Office
some member of the family visited the
room to inquire as to his health and
found him lyingin thepool of blood. His
family was Immediately notified and
when Mr.. Akiyama's mother raised
his head, and asked him what had in
duced him to take such course, he
made no answer, but managed to let it
be understood that he did not wish to
have medical aid. A physician was
soon on the spot, however, and the
wounds were treated, that on the stom-
ach requiring fifty stitches. It is under
no complications ensue, fatal result
need not be apprehended. The almost
invariable custom with a Japanese who
contemplates suicide, is to leave writ
ten statement of his reasons for the
act, but nothing of the kind has been
found in Mr.. Akiyama's case, and it is,
of course, idle to speculate on the mo-
tives by which he was influenced. Pos
sibly the simple explanation is mental
arrangement.
Private advices received here indi-
cate that the unfortunate man was in
sane The rumors regarding difficulty
following his return from Hawaii are
pooh poohed. Mr.. Akiyama's position
in the Government was not of sufficient
importance to warrant the Govern
ment laying any particular stress upon
his views in the Hawaii-Japan case and
no one realized this more than he.
Having been in Hawaii and being fam
iliar with all the details of the case
he would naturally form an opinion,
but the Government was not bound to
recognize it.
The general supposition among Mr..
Akiyama's friends in Japan is that his
brain was weakened by to close atten-
here he was only 80 years of age and
had already served three years in Lon
don in an official capacity and was
shortly afterward dispatched to st.
Petersburg on a diplomatic mission.
Being of convivial nature he entered
into the full swing of social pleasure
at the Russian Capitol and the drain
was too much for his constitution.
Europeans who spent much time
with Mr.. Akiyama's during his sojourn
in Honolulu considered him noticably
cratic and one occasion at least he dis
cussed the subject of suicide in the
event of failing health. His manner
at times was such as to alarm his Jap
anese friends in Hawaii and among
some there was doubt felt as to his
safe arrival in Yokohama so that his
first letter, announcing his safe arrival
was quite relief.
He was recognized at home as an able
and sincere official of the Imperial
Government and regarded as worthy
to be dispatched on the most delicate
missions. He was graduate of the
Imperial University of Japan receiving
special instruction in international law