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A 17-year-old high school student fell to his death Tuesday from the 5th floor of the apartment building in which he lived in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, police said Wednesday.
Police said they received an emergency call from the building's manager just after 8 a.m. Emergency services rushed to the scene where they found the boy, dressed in his school uniform, lying on the ground. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead shortly afterward.
According to police, Tuesday marked the final day of the boy's end of term exams at school. The boy had reportedly told his mother that he didn't want to go to school. Moments before the incident, he was seen by witnesses on the building's fifth floor. The boy lived on the 8th floor.
Police believe he may have decided to kill himself due to the stress caused by his exams.
© Compiled from news reports
18 Comments
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BlueWitch
What a horrible way to go. But then again, children/teenagers suicide is not rare in here and you would know that if you've been here at least 10 consecutive years. People won't be shocked or dismayed over this, they'll be like: "well, tests are difficult..shouganai ne". Sad but true.
My heart goes with his family. Rest in Peace young man.
asianTourist
Cram school and exam pressures have driven Japanese students to get the top list for best schools from elementary school to high school, and finally universities. I don't know statistics of exam-related-stress suicides in other countries like Korea, China and other Asian countries, but most of parents all want their kids to be on top of the graduate list. For a future career position in a big corporation, most of students need to work harder like an professional athlete preparing for gold medal champions. Parents can support their children and care more their children especially before each exam season. They may say, "you can pass the exam now or next time."
whiskeysour
Very sad !!!! PRESSURE IS ON !!!!! I wish someone told him to hang in there studying and taking tests is not forever.
ka_chan
Guess work, guess work.... Seems odd that he would do from the 5th floor if he lived on the 8th. Would make more sense to jump from the 8th. The last day of exams seems a odd choice too. Why didn't he want to go to school THAT day? You would think there should have been a note. Pretty severe quick descision. Sure someone(s) did give a little push? I hate snap conclusions with no real evidence.
smithinjapan
Sad, and just when Naoto Kan said he wants to see the suicide problem here get better. Perhaps eliminating the ridiculous exam process? Nah, won't happen.
Disillusioned
Where are all the people advocating suicide as an honorable Japanese thing? It is chronic depression that is killing more than 30,000 people a year and has been for over a decade. An, this coincides with the report on how the J-gov intends to step up measures to prevent suicide. How, I wonder?
sengoku38
Suicides like this could probably be prevented with vitamin D. The problem is no one goes outside here. Friends of mine who are in high school are completely pale.
ebonyninja
This has been going on for more than a decade. They having reporting it in the newspapers for about a decade. Its sad but true. And I realize it when I see someone on the train that is only 17 or 18 years old and they have grey hair like someone in their 40's. Young people should not have that level of stress in their lives, and I am sure it contributes to the level of smokers and drinkers in Japan also.
jason6
People that are stressed to the point of suicide don't usually make rational decisions, like which floor to jump from. He probably felt the pressures intensifying as he walked down the steps or descended in an elevator until he couldn't handle it anymore and made a fateful decision to jump.
hoserfella
only asianTourist could squeeze a jingoistic slant out of this story. "Japan No.1 in test pressure-fueled suicide! Enjoy second-best, Korea!
Tamarama
Suicide is tragic. I feel most for his parents now - they will have to try to live with his death for the rest of their days, and it will be something they never fully recover from. They themselves may understand the pressures that contributed to his death, but they are probably no different from millions of Japanese parents in terms of the social pressures that are at play in their own lives, as well as those of their kids, and it must be very difficult to shake themselves free of it. I can imagine the sense of dispair.
kyotovalentine
This has been going on a lot longer than 10 years. I was first in Japan in 1982 and the pressure was just as bad then. I would like to see the suicide numbers. I don't think there are more. I just think that media has increased.
kyotovalentine
I meant I don't think suicide of students has increased so much NOT suicide in the overall population. That has DEFINITELY increased.
blackpassenger
Atari mae, this is Japan yo.
Tom DeMicke
No more exams for him. RIP kid.
Patricia Yarrow
Did he fail all his tests? Why'd he do this? So tragic.
BlueWitch
Youdontknow,
Don't be impolite to other posters. Have some respect.
Fadamor
The WHO has noted that while the causes of suicide are many, in Asia there seems to be a higher incidence of "impulse suicide" compared to other parts of the world. If this incident was indeed a suicide, it sure would seem like an impulse suicide to me.