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No, I think this falls entirely in line with the Japanese idea of accepting responsibility through suicide. Sasai was Obokata's mentor, he was instrumental in
by jpatokal 12y ago
No, I think this falls entirely in line with the Japanese idea of accepting responsibility through suicide. Sasai was Obokata's mentor, he was instrumental in getting her papers published, and now he's caused a massive loss of face for not just himself, but the generally very well regarded institution he works for (Riken).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he should have committed suicide, I'm just saying that I can entirely see why he would have considered it a valid option to discharge his guilt.
- ekianjo 12y agoThat's just how YOU read it. You probably missed the fact that he mentioned in his suicide letters he was not killing himself because of her and this case. He was obviously under emotional stress and that's enough to push many people to suicide if you are in a fragile state, no matter if you are guilty or not.
- boyaka 12y agoSauce of letter content? I found one news article [1] that says "Police and Riken said Sasai left what appeared to be suicide notes, but refused to disclose their contents." [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2716540/Japanese-scientist-stem-cell-research-retracted-proved-false-commits-suicide.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2716540/Japanese-sci...
- ekianjo 12y agoThat's what was reported on Japanese news (about the contents of the letters). I can't find a link right now but I will check it later.
- minikomi 12y agoI live and work in Tokyo. People are intensely shocked and saddened by this turn of events. Like, stop working and walk around with hand on head stunned reactions when it first came out. This is not something respected or expected. Trust me, Japanese people love to point out they "saw it coming" or claim something is typical and aligns with their worldview - this is not one of those times.