Woman Saved from Suicide in Fukuoka

A 38 year old woman was talked out of jumping by rescuers in Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, Tokyo Wednesday. According to Mainichi Japan:

A woman at Fukuoka City Hall spotted the woman on a 12th floor ledge of the building in Fukuoka’s Chuo-ku at about 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, and alerted police.

The Fukuoka Fire Prevention Bureau dispatched a ladder truck and officials spoke to her, trying to convince her to move to safety, while people in the area looked on anxiously.

Rescue officials who raced to the scene called out to the woman, saying, “Everyone’s worried about you,” but the woman replied “There’s no one who would care to worry about me.”

When the woman turned her back a rescue worker grabbed her belt and a worker attached himself to her. Even then, the woman appeared as if she were going to jump, but when the worker called out to her saying, “If you fall, then I’ll fall as well,” she reportedly calmed down.

Whenever I check Mainichi Japan for news there is always a story about someone committing suicide, usually by throwing themselves in front of a commuter train. Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world but the country also has the tenth highest suicide rate in the world; the United States comes in 43rd, United Kingdom comes in 62nd, and South Korea is 6th. (Keep in mind the numbers may be a bit off when pertaining to countries in the Middle East and Africa because they may report suicides differently because of societal and cultural attitudes about suicide, according to Wiki). I think there needs to be some serious reflection about a countries values and culture and what about it brings people to suicide. (Not that I blame every suicide or attempted suicide on the countries culture, but it is definitely a factor.) It’s ridiculous the amount of people I read about ending their lives, especially when the reported reason is crippling stress.