Is suicide legal in Japan?

Factual Questions
21

Sorry for not following up sooner, but no, kase, I’m serious. As for how they do it, the standard way (for both the public and private rail companies) is simply to send a bill through the mail. Most bills that look official enough get paid without question. If the family refuses to pay, then it would either go to court, or the company would start sending someone to their house to harrass them on a regular basis (which is a fairly regular, and legal (or at least unpunishable) practice in my expereince). Past court rulings on this have decided in the train company’s favor when the death has been ruled a suicide and not an accident.

And jkbelle, yes, this is in Japan.

22

It’s “common knowledge” that Japanese train companies fine families for delays and cost of cleanup. It’s not something they advertise on their web pages, but I’ve found no evidence that it’s UL. As far as I can tell it’s true. You have to understand that Japanese commuters are sick of delays caused by suicides. The Chuo line in particular has an average of 20 suicides a year. Usually they just take about 10 minutes to clean up and carry on but sometimes it takes longer. In a city where it’s rare to see a train running 2 minutes behind schedule, this is enough to gain a reputation as an unreliable railway.

23

Oh, wow. ** Sublight & scr4 **

I’d have to be careful not to stumble in front of a train, wouldn’t I?

My poor family.

Can’t help but grin at : “the commuters are sick of delays caused by suicides”

and: " it takes about 10 minutes to clean up"

What do you use? Gardenhose? :wink:

24

Don’t worry too much about stumbling. I think they’re more lenient if it’s an accident. Well, worry about your own safety, as a train to the face can really put a damper on your day.

I think the 10 minute delays are only when the jumper survives the impact (it happens) or is thrown completely clear of the tracks. In cases of survivors, the person is moved from the tracks, medical help is called, rudimentary cleanup is done on the train, and everything starts running as before.

If the jumper dies, however, it’s another story. The body can’t be moved until the police arrive and survey the scene, so if it’s still on the tracks, nobody’s going anywhere for at least half an hour. On a morning rush-hour train, there can be over 3,000 people in one train, plus every train behind it is also stopped, so a lot of people are stuck in a very uncomfortable situation (you’ve heard the horror stories of people packed into the trains like play-doh? they’re true) for much longer than they want to be, which can be a health risk in itself.

There was one of these Sunday morning as I was going to wedding. I didn’t see the actual accident (but I was in the front car and heard the impact), but it seemed to be someone who was standing too close to the edge and got clipped (really early in the morning, so probably somone who’d been out drinking and was falling asleep on his feet.) I don’t know if s/he got hit in the head or shoulder, but after the station staff finished checking his condition and getting help, two of them walked to the front of the train and started inspecting for damage or blood. We left the station after about 10 minutes, and the front of the train looked clean when I got to my destination. No hoses were used, although they may have done some wiping with a handkerchief.

There was no mention of it in the paper the next day, so he probably survived. If so, he was lucky. There was a bad accident last year in which three people were struck and killed (one drunk guy who had fallen, and two others who had been trying to pull him out of the way, none of them were fined, AFAIK). Those trains move fast.

25

sorry I’m late answering. Can’t get into this bloody board most of the time.

Sublight Thank you for that.

You’ve made my day.

LMAO @ "they may have done some wiping with a handkerchief. " :slight_smile: