I caught an interesting commercial the other day, which showed a series of concerned people looking into the camera’s point-of-view, saying compassionate things like, “You seem tired these days, are you okay?” At the end was a message: “Your noticing the pain of others can save a life. Please pay attention to the people around you and help them know they’re not alone.” It was a commercial for suicide prevention, part of a recent campaign by the Japanese government to help reduce the tragically high number of Japanese who opt to catch the (neko) bus, and I think it’s great to have the problem being handled directly. Two decades of economic hardship coupled with social stigmas against taking medicine regularly and way too much stress have brought the suicide rate in Japan to a very high level, the 5th highest in the world per capita.Here’s a video link. By the way, you’re not alone!
Warning: consuming too much Touhou culture online can lead to lonliness.
