Japanese man commits suicide live on internet after online taunters dare him to do it
By Daily Mail Reporter
11th November 2010
A Japanese man committed suicide live on the internet after heated exchanges with online users who dared him to kill himself.
The 24-year-old man in the northern city of Sendai was found dead his apartment by local police, after reports from web users.
The man, who lived alone, had been on extended sick leave from his job since August and had announced his intention to kill himself in online chat rooms, after complaining for some weeks about problems he had been experiencing at work.
Japanese national newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the man began to broadcast images of himself on live streaming service Ustream last Sunday night, announcing his plan to kill himself and discussing his views about life.
After a break, his broadcast resumed early on Tuesday and he is believed to have hanged himself in his apartment at around 5:30am local time.
His broadcast received many messages, with some web users encouraging him to kill himself quickly, while others urged him to desist.
Ustream stopped the broadcast after 6am on Tuesday, following reports from an increasing number of viewers.
Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates, accounting for more than 32,000 deaths last year, the 12th consecutive year to exceed 30,000 deaths. According to the National Police Agency the number continues to rise.
The number of people killing themselves in suicide pacts made over the internet, while still small, has also been rising sharply.
Although the majority of such internet-related suicide pacts have occurred in Japan, similar incidents have been reported from the UK, the United States, and across Europe.
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