crime

Policeman commits suicide in koban in Ehime

12 Comments

A policeman apparently committed suicide in a koban in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, police officials said Sunday.

According to authorities, the 21-year-old officer was found in the kitchen of the koban, with a bullet wound to his head, at around 1 p.m. on Saturday, TBS reported. His gun and a note were found by his body, police said.

The officer was taken to hospital where he died about 90 minutes later.

Two officers were on duty in the koban at the time but one of them was out on patrol, police said.

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12 Comments
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Stress or bullying....I wonder which one..

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Mirai, both?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Tragic this. One can't help but wonder, what with all the bullying and hierarchy-tripping being rife in Japan, if this was a case of some pawahara and mistreatment, combined with enormous work loads, too much to handle for a 21-year old. Ideally, the police would investigate and find the root cause of this (in EVERY case, mind you), but I suspect this too, disgracefully, will be swept under the veritable mat. As a side-note, I wonder what business such a young person has being a police officer, and seemingly working alone. I feel it is way too young...

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Sadly, it's unlikely we'll ever know, and not knowing means not being able to prevent like incidents happening again in the future.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

There's been several suicides this year in Japan involving police officers. What on Earth is going on here?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Only 21 years old. The life of a j-cop is a tough one with a four day roster. It's hard to conclude if it was just the job that pushed him to kill himself or if there were other circumstances.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@ Jeffrey "There's been several suicides this year in Japan involving police officers. What on Earth is going on here?"

Koban checkouts have been going on in Japan for decades. Nothing new.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Unfortunately police suicide due to stress is more widespread than most people think. Many suicides by policemen go unreported to avoid stigmatizing families. Policemen never tell people their problems especially to their superiors because they don't want to be labeled as weak and for fear that their career will be destroyed. Instead they try to solve their own problems and that can lead to stress eventually resorting to alcohol, or substance or in extreme cases suicide. So police suicide is an alarming problem that is rarely discussed in public. This increase in police suicide is really shocking and sad and I'm speechless.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A police officer I went to school with committed suicide. Another, a friend's brother in law, was medically unfit to continue his work due to stress. I know these are just two examples but I would imagine that police are under enormous stress. I agree with Novenachama that police suicide is more widespread than we think. Personally, I couldn't think of a worse job.... they have to put up with a lot...

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I have a friend who was a police officer, and he told me that they were always bullied and pushed to get crime down in their districts. It's not a case of being over worked, it a case of supior officers who sit behind a desk a count crime stats to justify their excistance. Also, they should do sicalogical profiles on their officers before they graduate. Times are changing in Japan, and not for the better.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Very sad. Note, this is in the crime section--what is the crime? Suicide itself? Discharging the gun?

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There's been several suicides this year in Japan involving police officers. What on Earth is going on here?

Stressful shift work and easy access to guns. Gun advocates says people who want to kill themselves will do it whether or not they have easy access to guns. Just plain false.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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