Suicide victims met online

2004-10-13 14:51

Tokyo - Japan's internet-arranged group suicides, in which nine people died, were organised by two women who had earlier tried to kill themselves together but failed, news reports said on Wednesday.

The nine who were found asphyxiated in two rented vehicles near Tokyo on Tuesday included a housewife, a college student and unemployed young people who had little in common save frequent use of the internet, reports said.

The two suicide pacts were arranged by two women who had met online and decided to kill themselves earlier this month, reports said.

But after they survived, the women agreed to form two separate suicide groups.

Method recommended via the internet

One of the two women, a 34-year-old from Tokyo, was found dead with six others on Tuesday in a station wagon in Saitama Prefecture, 70km north of Tokyo, Kyodo News said.

The other, a 21-year-old also from Tokyo, was found dead along with another woman in a car in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, 45km south of Tokyo, Kyodo said, citing police sources.

In all cases, participants locked themselves inside vehicles and tents and burned charcoal to kill themselves from carbon monoxide poisoning - a method recommended on internet sites.

The Saitama suicide pact included a local 33-year-old housewife, a 20-year-old college student and a 20-year-old part-time worker from Osaka who had failed college entrance exams two years running, reports said.

The husband of the 33-year-old said he did not know her motive.

"She did not suggest that she was troubled by anything. She did not appear to be depressed," he told Jiji Press, adding that his wife disappeared from their home on Friday.

A 20-year-old woman from Saga in southern Japan who was struggling to find a full-time job was also part of the Saitama group, Jiji Press said.

Her mother had seen her viewing suicide-related Internet sites but never heard her talk about killing herself, Jiji Press said.

Police declined to comment on the reports, citing an ongoing investigation.

Japan has seen a rising suicide rate amid prolonged economic insecurity. Last year the country registered a record high of 34 427 suicides.

Psychologists say internet sites can encourage suicides by linking desperate, isolated people who would be unlikely to kill themselves alone.

- AFP