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Teenage girl injured after man hits her in suicide leap from high-rise in Tokyo

42 Comments

A teenage girl was injured after she was hit by a man who apparently jumped from a high-rise building in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Sunday.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 5:20 p.m. The man, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, jumped from the Shibuya Scramble Square building, Fuji TV reported. He hit the teenage girl walking below.

Police said the man was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The girl suffered an injury to her left leg after being knocked over.

Just before the man plummeted, an eyewitness reported seeing him throw a package from the stairway on the building’s 46th floor that leads to the rooftop. Police did not say what was in the package.

The Shibuya Scramble Square is a multi-purpose high-rise building that opened to the public on Nov 1, 2019. It directly connects Shibuya Station to its commercial facilities.

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42 Comments
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The way people take their lives may simply depend upon their available options.

In the West a fair proportion of people overdose, at home, on strong but widely available medication or recreational drugs. In the US, quite a few people shoot themselves as guns are more common. In Japan, most of the pharmaceuticals that could be used for this are not widely available and there are few guns, so more jump off, under or in front of things. Tokyo has a lot of very tall buildings.

It is unfair to say that this sort of act is 'selfish', as most emotional trauma takes individuals beyond the point at which they can consider such issues. They may simply assume that people will spot them falling, scream, and everyone will back away, because that is how it happens in the movies. Unfortunately, reality differs.

We do not behave logically or rationally at the best of times, and certainly not when under extreme emotional or mental health pressures.

This will be tough on the teenage girl and on the family and friends of the deceased. More support for mental health issues and emotional distress might reduce the numbers, but life is tough, the last two years especially so. People are more fragile than you think, and sometimes, it can all just be too much to cope with.

Maybe be nice to someone tomorrow. Smile and thank them. Ask them how they are. You never know how much that might mean to them.

Incidentally, ReynardFox is not entirely correct. Jumping in front of a train will not guarantee an immediate and painless death.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why do some suicide -ers want to involve and injure other people, jumping in front of a train springs to mind too. Why can't they do it privately where others who want to live aren't around, or seek specialist help

There are a couple of reasons for choices of suicide method, but the biggest reasons are access and perceived painlessness. Access means what methods a person has access to. In the US, the chief method of male suicide is by firearm because there is easy access to firearms. In Japan, that isn’t the case. But there are plenty of tall buildings and trains.

Perceived painlessness is the other consideration. Jump in front of a speeding train or leap from over 40 stories and you’ll be dead before your nervous system can even register the impact. Other methods like swallowing pills, slitting wrists, or hanging are slow, often agonizing, and sometimes failure-prone methods. Not the way anyone would want to go out.

One final consideration for public suicide is suicide as a plea to be noticed. So many people who suffer from suicidal depression either feel ignored or feel as though their cries for help aren’t being heard. They feel invisible. So a public suicide is a final attempt to make themselves unignorable. “No one paid attention to me in life, but they’ll pay attention to my death”. In this case, it clearly worked, because here we are, reading and talking about a man who would have otherwise been completely unknown. This was the last act of a man drowning in hopelessness. It’s just a shame one victim led to another.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Poor guy and poor girl. Will likely haunt her dreams for a long time.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

'frame of mind

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Well... If he's in such a frame of mind where this is the only way out, I doubt he's in the frame of kind to even consider other people. So selfishness and thoughtlesness don't even come in to it really.

But if he did leave beind an estate (bank account, insurance, anything) then it's only fair she gets some of it for the hassle of having a broken leg and trauma caused by his actions. Don't see why people are objecting to that part so much.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

One of my former students talked about how he was on a train platform in Tokyo waiting for his train. There was a salary man in a suit standing next to him when an express train started going by, and the guy just quietly stepped right into it and disappeared. There one moment, gone the next. Needless to say, he was pretty shocked by what he'd witnessed.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Japan is one of the few countries aside from Korea where you actually have to even think about the possibility of jumpers while you’re walking below. The girl is lucky to be alive. The incident will probably leave her mentally scarred for years to come.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This story highlights the disparity in Japan, This story should be about a man who killed himself not a girl with an injured leg. Male suicide is a big problem in Japan, as men carry the burden of society. 100% more male suicide than female every year.

"Teenage girl injured after man hits her in suicide leap from high-rise in Tokyo"..

I think the tittle explain enough, why the drama??..

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

I go there almost everyday. I was around there on that Sunday too. Christ Almighty that girl is lucky to have gotten away with it for the most part, though no doubt she'll have some serious trauma to deal with after this.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

So, if the girl was a little unlucky, she could have died. For God's sake, make sure nobody attempts to jump from that building anymore.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Meiyouwenti

No amount of wealth can cure serious depression or replace someone you lost or heartache .

Money can't buy love !

With Japan's shame and blame cancel culture and the world we live in plus the pandemic ,mental health worldwide is at an all time low.

It certainly doesn't help that emotional and mental health or therapy groups aren't common place in Japan.

Having alot of money or wealth is clearly not the answer to a happy life.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

A broken leg is the least of the trauma this young woman will have received from this unfortunate meeting of two Humans in extremis. We can only hope that this event is not precipatory in her own life given the PTSD which this could provoke for her. And, given a person in the throes of terminal desperation, the man can hardly be 'blamed' for disregarding those below as easy as that may be to do anymore than we blame a desperate 40-something Oregon housewife for deliberately swerving in front of a log truck on a rural highway. Terminal desperation is an acute insanity and even highly punitive courts of law absolve insanity. We can only be sad for all involved...

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

zichiMar. 28  07:03 pm JST

You can sue for damages even from a dead man if he had wealth or owned a house or property.

You still wouldn't be suing the dead man.

You would be suing his estate.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I mean it isn't an easy choice to make jumping off a high rise that high. Must have had such a painful life that made this leap feel like nothing. Hoping that no other soul has to go through with this suffering and a speedy recovery for the girl who was caught in the crossfire.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

@Tokyojoe

What a cold comment, very disturbing. Show some respect for the dead. Male suicide and depression is a big problem.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Why not tell us what was in the package?

If its not important then why mention it ?

Scramble square sounds like a place to get disconnected rather than connected.

Careful when walking around because you never know when a suicidal maniac will jump off.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

That time of day that would of been packed lucky he didn’t kill anyone …RIP poor guy

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@TokyoJoe

I totally disagree! Why talk about a selfish man who ended his life only to bring harm to a young women who perhaps wanted to possibly live life happy but can't because of this mans selfishness. I think it is good for the readers to know how the young women survived, there's no need to think about what happen to the dead weight after jumping 46 stories below. Yes, I agree that male suicide is a big problem in Japan let me rephrase that. SUICIDE in Japan is a big problem period. I disagree with you saying men carry the burden of the Japanese society, if the country is male dominated then perhaps they can make a change and simply cure that problem. I think suicide is a shared in grained cultural problem amongst the people of japan, that is not going to go away anytime soon.

This story highlights the disparity in Japan, This story should be about a man who killed himself not a girl with an injured leg. Male suicide is a big problem in Japan, as men carry the burden of society. 100% more male suicide than female every year.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

I saw a guy once ready to jump.

Firefighters in the street waiting with a net, and police guys on the top of the building talking with him. After a while, he renounced and was taken by police. Beyond that, I felt for this guy as something was wrong in his life. Hope he had help and things were better.

The funniest is that I saw the scene from the toilets of the train station as the window was left open and then from the station home. People waiting for their train did not notice anything

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Another selfish, thoughtless piece of garbage kills themselves and nearly others in the process. Glad the girl survived, and any money the man may have had saved or in life insurance (since family can still sometimes get it with a suicide) goes towards the girl and her suffering.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

zichiToday 07:03 pm JST

You can sue for damages even from a dead man if he had wealth or owned a house or property.

Yes, you can, but it is very difficult and costly and also time-consuming. Such a case in Japan might go on over years. I doubt if a guy not even 30 years old and commits suicide is owning anything, more likely just the opposite, jobless and owning nothing or even worse being full of debts with any sarakin office.

Whatever, keep in mind that your lawyer's fees might be significantly higher than the money you can collect from such a dead body. Your risk as a plantiff. I also doubt if a lawyer will accept such a case without a deposit paid in advance.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Lots of people will probably be traumatized. This is a sad way to end one’s life..

The reason is maybe that women have plenty of options to find help, while men have nowhere to go to talk openly about their problems and if they try they will be belittled, irgnored or face scornful remarks.

I think this is closely linked with gender stereotypes. Women talk to their friends. Men talk way less as being talkative is seen as a feminine attribute. Even more so in Japan where gender stereotypes are still so strong. My partner - a Japanese man - is a little (a lot) talkative and very often when he starts talking a lot, his friends jokingly call him by the feminine counterpart to his name (***ko). This is unfortunate

9 ( +11 / -2 )

@zichi

If he had wealth or property he wouldn’t have jumped off the building.

8 ( +15 / -7 )

A relief that the girl should physically recover. But the trauma will be another story. What an awful thing to experience - it will certainly leave a psychic scar.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

zichiToday 05:55 pm JST

he could have broken her neck or given her brain damage. She should sue for damages.

Filing lawsuits against a dead man, who likely did not own much? Good luck with that, but be aware you will be kept responsible for all legal fees, lawyers are not cheap in Japan.

It makes more sense to think about why this man, not even 30 years old, decided to commit suicide.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

TokyoJoeToday 05:54 pm JST

This story highlights the disparity in Japan, This story should be about a man who killed himself not a girl with an injured leg. Male suicide is a big problem in Japan, as men carry the burden of society.

Male suicide is a serious problem and not only in Japan. Male suicide outnumbers female suicide by a huge margin but nobody cares. The reason is maybe that women have plenty of options to find help, while men have nowhere to go to talk openly about their problems and if they try they will be belittled, irgnored or face scornful remarks. I don't know any organization, and even not a single webpage in Japan which is dedicated for men and boys and their issues, but there are countless publications online for women only.

In Japan loneliness is a major issue. It affects many more men than women of any age. Many men consider themselves as useless, outsourced by society and think about suicide.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Tragic. A very distressing time of year for many in Japan.

There is help available in the “Health” tab at the top of this page, next to the red-colored “CoVid-19” tab.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Relieved to learn the injured girl nor others were not more severely harmed. Situational awareness in the city is paramount.

Perhaps it may be why he threw the package down first, to forewarn others to look up and look out?

- “Just before the man plummeted, an eyewitness reported seeing him throw a package from the stairway on the building’s 46th floor that leads to the rooftop. Police did not say what was in the package.” -

7 ( +10 / -3 )

@zichi

Sure, sue a dead man.

9 ( +18 / -9 )

Never expect good things from above.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This story highlights the disparity in Japan, This story should be about a man who killed himself not a girl with an injured leg. Male suicide is a big problem in Japan, as men carry the burden of society. 100% more male suicide than female every year.

-6 ( +16 / -22 )

I think it was in last month's Japan Today: a man jumped from the top of a building; a woman lent out of the window to see what happened, fell out of the window herself and she landed on a man walking past.

Glad the girl in this story was okay at least.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Only injured her leg? That's one lucky lady.

9 ( +16 / -7 )

Jumping from buildings or under trains is really anti-social. Charcoal briquettes in the bathroom.... quiet, painless and easy to clean up after...

Or better still..CHOOSE LIFE! Especially someone 20-30's.

11 ( +22 / -11 )

He jumped 46 floors? He wasn't taking any chances.

And at 5:20 in the afternoon, there will have been plenty of passers-by to witness the mess he made when he landed. That's going to take some getting over.

I wonder what was in the package?

6 ( +13 / -7 )

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