Two people have died in the Japanese city of Yokohama after a teenage girl jumped to her death from a shopping centre, hitting a pedestrian below.
The 17-year-old high school student jumped from a building in a crowded shopping district, hitting a 32-year-old woman who was out with her friends on Saturday evening.
The two were immediately taken to hospital around 18:00 local time (09:00 GMT), where the girl died an hour later. The woman also died soon after.
It’s not clear why she might have killed herself, though more people under the age of 18 in Japan kill themselves on 1 September - just ahead of the new school term - than on any other day, according to official statistics.
Last year, 513 children took their own lives in Japan, with “school problems” cited as the most common factor.
How bad is school where teenagers are jumping off buildings to avoid starting the school year.
Most of them have part time jobs by that point… have quit their clubs to make time for cram school, and need to provide choices for not only their followup education but their desired trade. So they’re isolated during a time of extreme stress… and are exhausted.
Oh and their population is cratering and the economy is headed for hyperinflation… which means more work for ‘less’ pay in a country that has people literally die of overwork.
Honestly? It’s astounding how much those kids can absorb and keep on going.
Well… school probably does some work to prepare them for the work culture, which is famously bad in Japan
What’s strange is that a lot of strides have been taken to improve work culture in Japan… but almost nothing has been done to improve school culture.