World News

Seven people die in group suicide pact

SAITAMA (Kyodo) - Four males and three females were found dead Oct. 12 inside a station wagon in a mountain parking lot in Minano, Saitama Prefecture, police said.

Separately, two women were found dead in a car in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on the same day.

Investigative sources said they believed that one of the women in the Yokosuka incident and one of the women found in Minano were among four women who tried to kill themselves in the town of Okutama, western Tokyo, on Oct. 4, but were stopped by police.

Inside the station wagon in Minano, police found several suicide notes and four charcoal stoves, which are commonly used in suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning. The vehicle was wrapped in blue plastic sheets and was sealed from the inside with adhesive tape.

In recent years, a number of Web sites have sprung up in Japan to introduce suicidal people to other suicidal people so that they can die together.

Suicides have been rising in Japan amid the prolonged economic slump. Last year, the total number of people who took their own lives hit a record high of about 34,400, exceeding the 30,000 mark for the sixth straight year.

Japan stands out among industrially advanced nations with its high suicide rate. The United States has about the same number of suicides a year but its population is twice the size of Japan's.

Shukan ST: Oct. 22, 2004

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