12-year-old girl dies after being hit by bullet train in Yamagata

Sad sad sad

Why, why, why must we watch our children die?

What a way to go. So so sad, and now her parents are going to get saddled with a massive bill from JR.

Not what I want to read about; I have tons of empathy for the family.

Whether this was suicide or an accident, it is a very tragic death.

Must be heartbreaking for the parents. I hope this would be the last suicide news.

Why, why, why must we watch our children die?

For reasons people don't want to discuss. Seriously, it seems certain children's lives are not worth a completely open discussion.

As a parent in Japan, society's failure to address suicide is frightening:

By age group, the number of people 19 or younger who committed suicide rose by 12.7 per cent to 622 from the previous year, and the figure for those in their 20s increased by 2 per cent to 3,302. (Yomiuri, Mar 10, 2012)

<http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20120310-332649.html

So sad

It's very difficult to comprehend what sort of problems a 12 year old girl would have to make jump in front of a speeding train. One might conclude it was related to school cos it was her first day back, but no doubt there are a number of issues that pushed her to it. I feel sorry for the parents, but also feel they are partly to blame. Sad!

That poor girl.. it's sad when anyone does this, but for a 12 year old to be driven to do such thing is truly saddening and shocking. I feel sorry for the family and for the poor train driver who had to endure such a thing, knowing he could do absolutely nothing about it. He now has to live with that for the rest of his life.

May she rest in peace.

One might conclude it was related to school cos it was her first day back, but no doubt there are a number of issues that pushed her to it. I feel sorry for the parents, but also feel they are partly to blame.

Depression is a MEDICAL condition. Nobody pushed her to do this. Her parents are not to blame. She was surely sick and needed treatment.

What a way to go. So so sad, and now her parents are going to get saddled with a massive bill from JR.

No they won't. JR only bills the estate of people who cause disruptions by suicide, and as a 12 year old girl the value of her estate wouldn't likely be more than a DS and a tamagotchi.

Sure poor girl. But how about poor train driver?

It's very difficult to comprehend what sort of problems a 12 year old girl would have to make jump in front of a speeding train

No it isn't. Its just difficult to get people to accept certain human realities they don't want to hear.

It really takes some guts to stand right in front of a rushing-in train, in particular a bullet train! I salute the girl for having such guts! I couldn't do this, no matter how desperate I am. Rest in peace girl! Hope your next life will be better!

Probably didn't wanna go back to school but had no choice but to go.

I think there's too little info for any of us to speculate why she did what she did, let alone blame someone. But, we might try to keep this and other, similar, incidents in mind when we come into contact with people who don't seem quite right. A small act of kindness could make a big difference in someone's life.

I feel sorry for the parents, but also feel they are partly to blame. Sad!

Are you reading a different article than the rest of us?

Depression is a MEDICAL condition. Nobody pushed her to do this. Her parents are not to blame. She was surely sick and needed treatment.

But if she's sick, at the age of 12 it is a parent's responsibility to seek medical help. If they did, those who "helped" her have blood on their hands - if this was a suicide.

Too little information to get any ideaa of what the problem was, but the fact that this was the first day back to school certainly leaves plenty of room for speculation. And if she was seen climbing over the barrier to get on to the tracks in front of the train then it cant be anything but suicide really.

What a paradox. Not brave enough to face whatever is going on in her life, but brave enough to stand in front of a speeding bullet train and take her own life. Kind of makes you wonder what on earth it was she was running away from.

I hope she has indeed gone to a better place, and my heart goes out to the parents, regardless of whether they failed her or not. no parent should have to bury their own child.

RIP to the poor girl. Couldn't anyone help her before she committed suicide?

But if she's sick, at the age of 12 it is a parent's responsibility to seek medical help. If they did, those who "helped" her have blood on their hands - if this was a suicide.

They very well may have been getting help. I had a friend who killed himself at about the same age (I think he was 13 or 14). He was getting treatment, it didn't help, and he hung himself. Not all sick people can be helped (same as any other disease), and it's not useful at all to blame the family or the caregiver for this child's actions.

With a child so young the parents may not have even known their child was so depressed, especially with all the mood changes at puberty.

The point is, we don't know what was going on, and we will never know. So why compound the family's pain when they are suffering by blaming them?

RIP little girl... such a sad waste of a young life.

paff78 at Jan. 08, 2014 - 10:19AM JST Disillusioned writes "It's very difficult to comprehend what sort of problems a 12 year old girl would have to make jump in front of a speeding train. One might conclude it was related to school cos it was her first day back, but no doubt there are a number of issues that pushed her to it. I feel sorry for the parents, but also feel they are partly to blame. Sad!" Um, how do you come to the conclusion that the parents are partly to blame??? Wow! From this little news blip of an article you're already blaming people?

It is the parents fault partially. Having a child isn't just popping out one and feeding it and giving it toys. It also involves having a loving and understanding relationship. Parents are meant to be the ones you can trust the most. If that wasn't the case, then they failed.

how unfortunate.

gone too soon... :(

RIP little Princess!

Everything Happens for A Reason for what ever Reason you decided to take your life, the ones who are left to wonder WHY will never know!

All of you armchair analysts would probably do well to pull your heads in and stop speculating. The victims left behind are the family and the train driver. As a driver for 35 years I count myself incredibly lucky never to have been involved in a fatality. The effect on some of my colleagues has been devastating for them.

Very sad...I suspect she hated going to school, for some reason, as she did it at the 1st day of school, after holidays.

So incredibly sad. My heart goes out to all those involved. This is so heartbreaking for me, as I live in Yamagata and teach English at 2 junior highschools. I live in a different city, but Tendo is quite close and I know the English teaching assitants who work there. It must be devastating to come to school and find out one of their students took her own life like this.