Children and Suicide in Japan

A response to the Japan Times Herald article:

A family walks into the supermarket and the child starts to misbehave. A stranger comes up and disciplines the child.

Generally speaking, parents don't like strangers yelling at their kids. I think this is much like the Japanese feeling towards foriegners (strangers) castigating them on their own 'family' behav ior.

As for the subject at hand, modern views on suicide in the west are firmly entrenched in the Judeo-Christian value of the human being as a child of God.

Without this concept, suicide, whether blatently steping in front of a Shinkansen or wandering off into the forest at old age, is concidered a normal part of society divesting itself of unneeded and/or excess hindrences in the path of healthy development.

People in the west (read: Christian, Jewish, Moslem) have a view that is different from older traditional norms and while it is true that the Abrahamic tradition is the majority today, it is not the older tradition, as you point out using Plato. Plato, remembered names in Greece, Rome, Egypt and countless unremembered names of people who committed and/or were given the 'honorable' way out to commit suicide

As I have pointed out in my past writings, I consider suicide the cowards way out and the ultimate screw you to anyone who loves or depends on you.

Child suicide and bullying in Japan mixes the equation with inept teaching and disciplinary methods (or lack of any method) and children just trying to escape the trap of pain as any rational being would. In traditional societies, child suicide is rare, though child mortality is not. Children are quite valuable and treated as such since their presence ensures the continuity of the farm, family and clan whereas in today's city culture children are more often seen as a hindrance and impediment to the freedom and lifestyle of the adults.

The modern city lifestyle is selfish and indulgent. Over crowding and the aberant behavior of unsupervised young is much like we see in elephant herds when the adolescent bulls are left without adults to guide them. Children in modern cities turn to running amock and those who aren't part of the 'in' crowd or can't handle the pressure are bullied into line or opt out.

The ultimate 'in' crowd for these adolescent societal losers is the suicide club.

But again, in the animist, shaminist view that underpins the East, the weak, infirm, elderly and just plain failures of society should do everyone a service and dispense with themselves. Its ultimately better for everyone. The bully is the tool nature uses to cull the herd or whip them into shape. There is a reason it's called the 'bully pulpit'. This is the view in Japan. And in history.

You may not like it. It may be wrong , there may be a better way; but interestingly, the idea that seems to be coming up in the health care debate about when to cut off care in hopeless or excessively expensive cases seems to hint at the circle returning of society deciding its time to walk out into the forest and die. Logan's Run?