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An 18-year-old youth was hit and killed by a train in Higashikurume city, Tokyo, on Thursday night, in an apparent suicide.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 11:10 p.m. on a crossing along the Seibu Ikebukuro line between Hibarigaoka and Higashikurume stations, Sankei Shimbun reported.
The crossing gates were down at the time. The train driver told police he saw a figure walk onto the tracks and stand in the middle. The driver said he applied the emergency brake but couldn’t stop in time.
Police said the youth’s family had reported him missing after he went out on the night of Feb 17 and didn’t return home. His bicycle was found in a nearby park. No suicide note was found on the body or among his belongings.
© Japan Today
3 Comments
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englisc aspyrgend
Selfish kid, no thought for the consequences of his actions on others, the stress and trauma of the poor driver, the impact on the railway and all those whose journeys he disrupted, not to mention the agony and distress his family and friends will suffer, some for the rest of their lives. These are the ones I feel sympathy for.
TrevorPeace
This is yet another demonstration of the fundamental problem with Japanese society. Too many young people think they have no future, or they've been bullied, or cast out by their peers or families. In western countries they turn to drugs, which will inevitably lead to their deaths or incarceration. In Japan, they seem to believe that just ending it is the solution.
Regardless of what commentators on this site may say about him being selfish and uncaring about the inconvenience to train riders, this is a mental illness caused by a society that clings to a past that no longer exists. I work with vulnerable youth, and I have witnessed first-hand a few of them die, right in front of my eyes. I know.