Feeling Suicidal?
If so, seek help. Buy a cat. Sleep in late. Eat a well balanced meal. Go for a walk. Take a day off work. Whatever you do, don’t jump in front of a crowded commuter train in the morning!
Today marks the fourth time this year—and the second time in two weeks!—that I’ve been held up by people who have thrown themselves in the path of moving trains. Whenever this happens, all the train lines in the area have to stop and readjust their schedules, which greatly inconveniences literally tens of thousands of people who are just trying to get to work.
This morning I was actually on the train that hit the jumper, so in addition to the readjustment time, there was additional time needed to clear away the body. Although I left the house this morning in plenty of time to get to work, I ended up being half an hour late because of this. As per company rules, I have to take a half day off if I am even a minute late, regardless of the reason.
My boss warns me that I should be careful because suicides are common during this time of the year (Japan’s suicide rate tops 30,000 annually, almost like clockwork, with most of them happening in the spring), which is a really unfortunate fact of life in Japan, but what on earth can I do about it? I already left home with time to spare; short of never going home, there’s not much more that I can do. Shouldn’t some steps be taken to prevent this kind of behavior? Some train lines have guardrails that prevent people from getting close to the train before the gates open, which seems like a sensible precaution.
I’m sorry if you’ve lost your job or if you didn’t get into your school of choice or whatever, but please, jumping in front of a train is really not the way to go about dealing with your situation—no matter how bad it may seem at the time.
