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[esglumac]

Toshikatsu Matsuoka, farm minister for Japan, attempted suicide mere hours prior before he was scheduled to face questioning. The interrogation concerned a political scandal over rigged contracts and donations. The 62-year-old minister was found unconscious and rushed to a hospital, where he died. The reports claim that the man hanged himself in his pajamas with a dog leash.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose administration has fallen in the eyes of the Japanese people, was a staunch defender of Matsuoka, whose connections within the Japanese political system enable Abe�s rise through the system. Abe, who saw the deceased Matsuoka at the hospital, was visibly shaken by the scene, and said that he wanted to pray for the minister�s soul.
The scandal involved two committees, set to receive support for the electoral campaign, taking funds from businesses which then bid on public works projects dealt out by the Japanese government.
Japan has the highest suicide rates in the world, at some 30,000 a year.

any-thing to say about this????

[Nismo]

[furiousmilksheikali]

[southofreality]

[partialtone]

It is sad but in the case of politics I prefer this situation over free secret service protection and a monthly paycheck for, "retiring".

[nonsmoker]

What alarms me is Japan's declining population. I MUST do something about it.

[Yawarakaijin]

The reviews are in! Nonsmoker voted best new comer of the season!

[Eva Pilot]

He was the first cabinet minister to commit suicide since the war though, so it's not as if it happens every day.

I thought that the principal that committed suicide last year was principal of one of those schools that was part of the graduation credits mixup, he considered himself to blame for the students in his school not being able to graduate.

[shuize]

Meh. Personally, I think it's the coward's solution. But if he really wants to stamp-out early, who am I to stop him? Just one less bureaucrat's pension to fund.

[jademonkey]

If more politicians committed suicide, the world would be a much happier place. String the b*astards up, I say.

[gaijin4life]

[TK4Lakers]

As shuize mentioned, this is definitely a coward's way out.

But I don't think you can really compare and connect this minister's suicide to that of Japanese history.

I actually asked some of my Japanese teachers about this, and they said that during the samurai ages, people committed suicide because they were forced to. It's kind of like, when they lost a battle, the winner would say "I win, you lose, the only way out is suicide." (to put it in very simple terms).

The minister had nobody force this suicide on him except himself, so in a way, he is a coward, and whereas people may have looked at seppuku as "honorable," I don't think anybody is applauding this minister's way of death.

[Apsara]

Okay, let's give the guy a break shall we? A member of my family committed suicide 12 years ago and several relatives of people I know have also taken their own lives. The reasons people do this are usually very complicated and tend to stem from more than one factor. We can't just put it down 100% to cultural factors or cowardice or whatever. It is usually a sad waste and a great loss for the people left behind.

[nonsmoker]

I'd rather live in a place with a high sucide rate than in one with a high homicide rate.

[Nismo]