145 - Jumping to One's Death

【飛び降り自殺、tobiori-jisatsu】

[飛び降り is a combination of two verbs: to leap and to descend. And 自殺 (suicide) is formed by the Kanji for self and kill. Quite simple, isn't it?]

The number of suicides per year was approximately 20,000 until 1997, but it has been increasing every year since then due to the economic slump and other factors, reaching more than 30,000 in 1998. The most common method of suicide is hanging, which is said to account for more than half of all suicides, followed by jumping to death. As of 1997, of all suicides, the percentage of those who committed suicide by hanging was higher among males (64.5%) than among females (56.7%), while the percentage of those who committed suicide by jumping was higher among females (12.2%) than among males (9.4%).

Suicide by hanging or self-injury can be interrupted for reasons of "not being ready to die," but suicide by jumping is said to have a high fatality rate because once a person jumps, they will lose their life unless the impact is mitigated by a lucky landing or by an obstacle. Among all suicides, the most common age group is those in their 50s, followed by those in their 40s, 30s, and 20s, although suicides among the elderly have been increasing in recent years.

Incidentally, it is said that if a person jumps from a high place, they will lose consciousness before they reach the ground.