-Caveat Lector- Kid Suicides Nearly Double in Japan TOKYO (AP) -- The number of Tokyo children committing suicide nearly doubled in 1998, Japan's largest newspaper said today. In all, 74 people aged 18 and under killed themselves in Tokyo in 1998, compared to 40 children the previous year, the Yomiuri newspaper said. Last year's suicides included 24 high school students, 10 junior high students and 3 elementary school children. The remaining 37 were in their late teens and not enrolled in school, the newspaper said. Forty-five of those who killed themselves were male, while 29 were female, it said. The surge in suicides may reflect ``a diminishing sense that one's life is precious,'' the daily quoted officials from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department as saying. The newspaper said one male student, who committed suicide after worrying about his shoplifting, left a note saying: ``I have become human trash.'' Officials were unavailable for comment today, a national holiday in Japan. In Japan, suicide is seen as an honorable way to escape life's difficulties and as a way to take responsibility on the behalf of others. Earlier this month, the Health and Welfare Ministry said overall suicides in Japan rose to 27,102 in the last ten months of 1998, up 38 percent from the same period last year. Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates, with 17.2 per 100,000 people taking their lives each year. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
