Top 4 Reasons for Japanese to Commit Suicide (Notes from Under the Tatami Mats–26 … My Adventures in Japan)

in japan •  6 years ago  (edited)

“Bullying by adults is loathsome. ... Organized and well-orchestrated bullying by adults in an office environment is loathsome and reprehensible.”

Japan ranks 20th in terms of suicide rate – one of the highest of all developed nations.

Much of this is owing to overwork and bullying. In fact, death as a result of overwork is not an uncommon occurrence in the country. They've even coined a word for it – "karoshi." 

Work to death, or work to die 

When the boss compels you to work 12-hour days – with barely any time off, with insufficient meals or meal-time, and with incessant pressure to complete a never-ending series of tasks – chances are you’ll die soon.   

If you don’t die, you’ll probably want to kill yourself, just to get some relief.     (Image source)

Beware the loathsome psychopaths 

As for the bullying, any organized and concerted bullying by schoolkids is pathetic. But the organized, concerted, and well-orchestrated bullying in an office environment by adults is loathsome. For all intents and purposes, it amounts to psychological torture.    

Nowadays, bullying may be less and less common, but it still occurs. It still occurs among Japanese children, and it still occurs among Japanese adults. And it still occurs much too often.

And it is still loathsome, inexcusable, deplorable, and reprehensible.     (Image source)

   Introduction to – “Notes from Under the Tatami Mats”  (right-click on title)

Top 3 Ways to Commit Suicide
Top 3 Reasons that Japanese Employees Are Never Fired
Top 3 Excuses Given by Japanese Employees When They Ignore Contractual Obligations to Foreign Employees
... and more

Links to my Other Series …

      Introduction – "Intro to Vocab-ability"   (right-click on title)
      Guide – "Guide to Entries"   (right-click on title)
      Index– "Index" to all Chapters and Sections   (right-click on title)

      Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1"   (right-click on title)
      Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2"   (right-click on title)

Images sourced from Google Images, unless otherwise indicated or unless my own.

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This is, frankly speaking, a shocking discovery. I never knew Japan has such an hellish and victimizing working culture. Now I know why Japanese firms in Nigeria want to turn our labourers into workhorses. A culture which pushes people into committing suicide is devilish and backward. Humanity does not need it. I hope nobody messed with you while you were there.

Thanks for this illuminating post.

It's not always hellish and victimizing, but in certain cases, it is ... undeniably.

And yes, certain people "messed with me" while I was there, in different ways and to different degrees. I write from experience. Fortunately, it's my PAST experience.

I've moved on, and continue to move onwards.

@majes.tytyty, I really appreciate this post as it is quite an alarming issue here in Japan. I have not experienced having anyone close to me committing suicide or outrighted "admitting" to being bullied but the stories I have heard from friends and some foreign colleagues is rather hard to swallow.

The culture which says that "I want to be seen as a hard worker and as the ideal Japanese" has alot to do with this suicidal issue. I currently live and work in Japan and I have first hand experience wherein, I watch how their culture dictates how and when they work. It is like they never take a moment to breathe muchless to rest.

I sometimes feel so bad when I see the cries in their eyes. I always try to remind them to take some rest especially when I depart from work for the weekend. Or if I can catch them in a free five minutes, I try to talk to them about things not related to work or try to crack a joke or something, just to get a smile or a breath of fresh air.

It is like a never ending cycle of work here and a topic that will stay on tongues for years to come.

Yes, it's tough to see them overworked or bullied or driven to extreme reactions. So, anything you can do is honorable and noble.

Of course, living and working within the only culture they know, it may be difficult for them to realize that they have an option. And if you can show them that they have options, and that they do not have to tolerate any BS, then great for you, and hopefully, great for them.

Yeah, thats so true....most of them only know this right here....it is what they came to know. I hope some change will come and soon.

Don't they have Labour laws and labour unions that fight for the wellbeing of their members. I can't believe workers in japan are subject to such humiliating experiences inspite of their advancement. When you hear stories of some countries, you'll start appreciating yours the more despite the challenges

Labour unions are useless unless solid evidence is present. Sometimes, things happen so sudden that the victim is unprepared to gather evidence. A piece of advice, have your recorder or CCTV ready at all times. Newbie entering any new company should be careful. Sometimes, the friendliest could turn out to be the actual culprit.

Good point. In fact, I was gonna include the following image, but decided not to.

If almost everyone complaining about how their employers are treating them, it's enough evidence for the Labour union to investigate and spring into action too. The government should also make laws to protect the worker's rights

Realistically, not everyone will complain even when they are subjected to the same bully. Some people will choose silence especially so when they have debt to pay or a family to feed. Also, some bullying practices are very hierarchical in that the youngest take the biggest blow as all attention are focused on the latest target. Older staffs who paid their dues earlier are actually relieved to have a breather so they might not want to get involve. It can get very complicated. They will resort to all sorts of mean tactics to prevent newbie from passing probationary period. Also, newbie won't know who is actually having relationship with whom and why some are not subjected to the same treatment and so on. I know of a case where husband and wife work in the same company and due to the husband's relationship with superior, the wife get training to do her job. When a new unrelated person comes in, he did not undergo the same training. I suspect the husband is a relative or possibly have a share in the company. This kind of internal news is hard to come by unless there is an insider. But not everyone is well-connected or able to receive highly privilege information.

I understand. It's really so sad that such a practice is common in such a developed country. The workers there are supposed to be enjoying

Initially I was very naive and thought work was supposed to be fun too. The older I get, the more I think workplace is like a battlefield. I live in a third world country by the way but have friends in developed countries such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong. All the horrors were either experienced first hand or described by friends who had been through hell.

Work is supposed to be fun. I'm also a little bit advanced and from a third world country. It depends on who you're working under and the type of company you're working with. Also, if the Labour laws of your country is employee friendly and the Labour union is active, you stand a higher chance of enjoying your job

They probably have some lax labor laws, and they even have "campaigns" against bullying. But no campaign is gonna stop the bullies and the cruel bastards from behaving as they do.

I saw some of it with my own eyes, and it was vicious and merciless. Carried out by the manager of the small 10-person office. And it was relentless -- everyday, usually several times a day.

The victim was a young recruit, his first job after he graduated. He tolerated the misery for about half a year, then he quit. I left the company shortly thereafter. The manager stayed, and remained stupid and cruel. I hope he's dead now.
,,,
As for labor unions, they have so-called "unions," but they're weak and ineffective and pointless. The company makes the rules, the workers follow the rules.

One of the companies where I taught English told me that the employees sometimes engaged in "walkouts" and "strikes." The workers would "walk out" during lunch hour, in "protest" of the insufficient offer in the new contract.

At the end of lunch hour, the workers would re-enter the office and get right back to work. The company would "note the walkout / strike / protest," and might raise its offer by about 0.0001%!!

Woohoo. The strike was successful, and everybody was happy. That's Japan for you.

At the end of lunch hour, the workers would re-enter the office and get right back to work. The company would "note the walkout / strike / protest," and might raise its offer by about 0.0001%!!

This is really very funny. It seems the Japanese government don't care much about the wellbeing of her citizens. My country cannot be that developed and the work force will have no say. It's So sad that the labour union in Japan are in active. They are the ones that are supposed to be fighting for the improvement of the well-being of the workers

A perfect depiction of Japan for real @majes.tytyty.

In fact, those things do exist but you will find that being viewed as the "ideal Japanese" is more important to Japanese people than their wellbeing. Take for example, the government has put in place a law/rule that says that workers should only work a certain amount of hours within a certain time and you will find that many Japanese find ways to beat this. Some clock in at a later time than when they actually arrive at work and clock out earlier than they actually leave work. So at the end of the day, this is more of a culture thing than even having laws or unions.

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Please do not put irrelevant links into the Comments section of anybody's posts. It's foolish and pointless.

Suicide is not only crime & ethically wrong step but no one is willingly going to end their unless their is a abslute compelling force. we need get both these parties correct to overcome suicidal mentality, not only in Japan but in other nations too. About 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death. Depression is the top risk factor, but there are various other mental health disorders that can contribute to suicide, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

i would like to add four more highly contributing factors that adds to it world wide :

  1. Breakups.

  2. Career efrocement on students by their own familes.

  3. Being diagnosed with a serious medical diseases, such as cancer or HIV.

  4. Substance abuse.

I'm not sure about your "90%" figure. While many who commit suicide suffer from diagnosed or diagnosable mental illness, many do not.

Many commit suicide owing to horrible external circumstances. To turn it around and say it was caused by depression is unreasonable. And in fact, none of the 4 factors you mentioned are "mental illness."

Also, as I noted in this (unscientific) post, mental illness is not in the "TOP 4" reasons among Japanese. Having lived there for almost 2 decades, I can safely say that I do not recall one instance of hearing about a suicide owing to mental illness.

On the other hand, I did hear of suicides owing to the above external factors – too often!

Take it as an example
overweight, fatigue, pot belly and snoring are 4 main symptoms of obesity that is physical illness likewise the 4 factors i mentioned & 4 you mentioned in your post leads to depression, anxiety that are the symptoms of mental illness that effects their mood and behaviour. Remember it is an unnatural death and the intent to die originated within the person so all those horrible external circumstances discussed above must lead a person to a level where they are ready to end their own precious lives, that suggests that a person must be very stressful and depressed condition.
plus, I don't doubt your 2 decades of experience and knowledge of japan, you must better aware of the circumstances leading to suicides there But the comment i added was "factors that adds to it world wide" (not only in japan)including other nations too, to which @azanmalik, @honeysim, @letzsteem agreed to, aware of the caues of suicide in their respective nations.

By the way, really liked your posts about japan.
Have a great day

  ·  6 years ago (edited)

@socialalpha, I definitely agree with numbers 2 and 3 based on what i have seen and heard. Might I also add the practice of keeping things bottled up inside (which in turn can result to depression, which you also mentioned); masking one's emotions. Here it is like being expressive is a very bad thing and rather than say how one is feeling, society expects you to just fall in line, whether you like it or not.

We all , Japanese, are educated to adjust the society without knowing what person's life supposed to be, really.
I think it is also related with our high population density. That makes our competition pretty tough and people feels they need to protect their position in the company.

There is no way to choose the other way, once you made your decision in your early 20th. It is because the society will put the sticker says " QUICTER " and you will have difficulty to find a new job, if you resigned.

What a hell....

Current situation is a bit better than before although, progressing or improving are super slow.....

Yes, as I said, bullying may be less common nowadays. But it still occurs and it's still harmful.

In many way, Japan has a highly developed and advanced society. But in regard to the bullying, the karoshi, the "torture," it has a long way to go.

Thanks for replying. I totally agree with.
One of my friends recommended me to start steemit since I am able to communicate in English and I have a opinion not like common Japanese you could probably meet in Japan ;P, and I started using this just from yesterday.
I could understand point of my friends due to blockchain doesn't allow us to re-write or control the information that is possible nowadays in Internet.

So what I wanna say is a lot of real opinions are under controlled by government and I hope this new technology can give us, Japanese, something new ! We can't really find easily this kind of voices anymore. Same thing happens about Fukushima 2011, as well.

As you told me, Japan is a high developed country although, that is even close to the perfection, We need to face REALITY.....

Welcome to Steemit, Haruka-Hana!

As a former English teacher in Japan, I must compliment you on your English. Your English ability / proficiency is far better than most of my students English.

I hope you have a great experience on Steemit. Spend some time composing high--quality posts, and you will eventually gain a following. Your writing does not need to be perfect, but it should be clear and understandable.

As a Japanese travelling the globe, you'll have plenty of experiences to write about. Make interesting and attractive posts, with good text and a few good photographs, and keep at it for a year or two. That way, success will come.

All the best! Full Steem Ahead!

You flatter me ;) ! hahaha
I am so glad to hear it. Thank you, I am taking it as a compliment.

And also, thanks for the advice.
Another reason why I started steemit is improving my writing skill. Speaking and listening are way more easier than writing, I feel. Then,steemit is here ! I need to keep my motivation to brush my skill up!
Let's see what I am able to get from this community !

I will try to do this with having a fun !

@majes.tytyty suicide is crime

Right. And those guilty of such a horrendous crime deserve capital punishment. That'll teach 'em.

So sad, Japan is a 1st world country I wonder they will commit this kind of act.

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Knowledgeable article

  ·  6 years ago Reveal Comment

Please do not put irrelevant links into the Comments section of anybody's posts. It's foolish and pointless.

This is the second time you've posted the same link in THIS COMMENTS section!
That is spam!! That is FOOLISH, POINTLESS, and FLAG-WORTHY.

Don't do it again.