Web of Despair

Japan shoulders a dubious honor: It has one of the highest suicide rates among industrialized nations. Add a highly wired citizenry and you get a nation emerging as a world leader in cybersuicide, "death pacts" arranged on the Internet. Not only are Japanese strangers connecting in chatrooms and logging on to suicide-related Web sites offering ...

Japan shoulders a dubious honor: It has one of the highest suicide rates among industrialized nations. Add a highly wired citizenry and you get a nation emerging as a world leader in cybersuicide, "death pacts" arranged on the Internet.

Japan shoulders a dubious honor: It has one of the highest suicide rates among industrialized nations. Add a highly wired citizenry and you get a nation emerging as a world leader in cybersuicide, "death pacts" arranged on the Internet.

Not only are Japanese strangers connecting in chatrooms and logging on to suicide-related Web sites offering encouragement and advice, but some surfers are even going so far as to solicit companions for group deaths. Between February and early July 2003, at least 20 Japanese died, many in strikingly similar carbon monoxide poisonings, after meeting suicide companions online. Such incidents are not entirely new, nor confined to Japan. Three South Koreans initiated the first wave of Internet suicide pacts three years ago. Since then, there have been similar cases in Norway and the United Kingdom.

So, what steps are officials and experts taking to prevent the deaths? Regulation, it seems, is not the key. Parry Aftab, a cybersafety expert and executive director of WiredSafety (www.wiredsafety.org), notes that shutting down suicide Web sites only drives others underground. The right to free speech also complicates regulatory efforts, says Lee Judy of the American Association of Suicidology (www.suicidology.org). A more promising solution lies with organizations dedicated to suicide prevention. The Web sites of suicide-prevention charities Befrienders International (www.befrienders.org) and Tokyo English Life Line (www.telljp.com), for example, provide ready access to counseling and crisis support.

But the expertise and resources of these groups exist primarily through telephone and live counseling. Aftab believes greater focus should be put on combating cybersuicide on its own turf by providing "interactive and instantaneous help online." After all, if suicidal people can turn to cyberspace for companionship and advice about death, shouldn’t they also be able to log on for comfort and encouragement when choosing life?

Dianna Lee is studying political science at Yale University.

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.