Fears of Suicide Surge in Japan's Tsunami Zone
[ti:Fears of Suicide Surge in Japan's Tsunami Zone]
[ar:Voice of America]
[al:VOA News English]
[00:00.00]
[00:00.79]The physical impact of the tsunami
[00:02.59]is still clear to see.
[00:04.37]But as reconstruction efforts proceed,
[00:06.86]there is growing concern over the mental scars
[00:09.57]the tsunami has left behind.
[00:11.71]More than 430,000 people
[00:15.20]were forced into emergency shelters.
[00:17.24]Homes were destroyed.
[00:18.45]Communities cut off.
[00:20.24]The phone counseling service 'Inochi no Denwa'
[00:23.64]in Sendai, one of the worst hit cities.
[00:27.70]
[00:31.61]"Immediately after the quake and tsunami
[00:33.27]everyone was really scared.
[00:35.00]On the telephone,
[00:36.34]everyone said they were frightened,
[00:37.78]especially people
[00:39.18]with existing mental health problems.
[00:40.77]For example, in the shelters they can't sleep,
[00:43.77]they have no medication,
[00:45.42]so their mental health
[00:47.03]is getting worse and worse."
[00:48.84]Fallout from the nuclear plant in Fukushima
[00:51.58]prompted a Japanese farmer to hang himself.
[00:54.47]Local media say a government worker
[00:56.69]killed himself in April,
[00:57.80]as did a father who had lost his daughter.
[01:00.27]There are fears the trickle could become a torrent.
[01:03.63]Japan already has the highest suicide rate in the world -
[01:07.31]at more than 30,000 deaths per year
[01:09.91]for the last 13 years.
[01:11.96]Several months since the tsunami,
[01:14.01]the mental effects are still great,said Demura.
[01:17.57]
[01:21.41]"People are beyond the sadness."
[01:24.10]"They feel guilty about surviving.
[01:26.28]People gradually calm down,
[01:28.45]but they often have flashbacks
[01:30.26]and the tsunami becomes a trauma for them.
[01:32.32]Then they start to worry about the future."
[01:34.83]There are still remarkable examples
[01:37.77]of the Japanese stoicism
[01:39.34]that has drawn so much admiration.
[01:41.67]Ryuichi Suzuki's home on the shoreline near Sendai
[01:45.29]was washed away without a trace.
[01:47.59]After spent two months live in shelters,
[01:50.24]Suzuki and his wife are now being given this house.
[01:54.63]
[01:58.92]"There is no point
[01:59.75]in thinking about the things I lost."
[02:01.68]"I had better forget about it all
[02:04.00]and think about the future.
[02:06.07]I guess I will live for another 10 or 15 years,
[02:09.90]so I want to get over this disaster."
[02:12.29]"I'm going to live with positive outlook.
[02:15.52]I'll do my best."
[02:17.11]Suzuki said he's happy with his temporary new home.
[02:20.74]It has a roof and walls,he said,
[02:22.96]and even a high-tech electric toilet.
[02:25.69]
[02:27.71]"My first hope is that the Japanese government
[02:30.74]will compensate me well for my losses,for my house."
[02:35.05]"My second hope? Let me see...
[02:37.75]I hope to get a camper van.
[02:39.58]When it's cold, I'll go somewhere warm.
[02:42.23]When it's too hot, I'll go to a cooler place.
[02:46.16]"Like a sunflower, I'll follow the sun."
[02:48.18]
[02:49.72]Across this region,
[02:50.52]advertisements on buildings,buses and taxis
[02:53.71]implore the Japanese people to ganbarou -
[02:56.38]or rise up and meet the challenge.
[02:58.68]Counselors at 'Inochi no Denwa' say that mentally,
[03:02.29]many of the survivors still are struggling
[03:04.49]to deal with the events of March 11,
[03:06.89]which changed their lives forever.
[03:08.77] |