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> I admire the Japanese honor though.. There's no honor in making a quick exit instead of facing the music.

• jpatokal 12y ago
  As very recently discussed right here on HN, that's not how the Japanese necessarily view things. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/24/last-call-3 http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/24/last-call-3
• m_mueller 12y ago
  This is looking at a foreign society through Western glasses. I recommend you to travel there sometime for an extended period to understand these people better. The way I see it, being a member of Japanese society is an honour in the conservative sense - an honour for which members feel they have to keep earning it throughout their lives by doing what's best for the society. In extreme cases some feel that they're not worthy of that anymore or that they've become a burden to society, so they take their lives. This is not to say that this is the most common cause of suicide in Japan - many Western societies have suicide rates that are not that far off. However in this case here I can very well imagine that this is what happened. Suicide doesn't mean they're 'cowards' necessarily, they're imposing the highest possible punishment on to themselves. Just like American society still thinks that the death sentence is the highest possible punishment.
  • stefantalpalaru 12y ago
    > they're imposing the highest possible punishment on to themselves That's the problem right there: death is not the highest possible punishment, regardless of culture.
  • acuozzo 12y ago
    > This is looking at a foreign society through Western glasses. Who gives a damn? "My culture/society says I should" is never a good-enough reason to do something and suicide is no exception. You can't excuse people for doing stupid shit because of their upbringing. We're not robots.