An Intentional Accident

Something happened on Saturday - and it didn't really involve me, but it's been on my mind ever since.

A friend and I were on the train, on our way to meet up with a friend in Shibuya, when the most annoying thing ever happened - an impromptu announcement was made. Some people got off the train, and yet others continued to get on. Inevitably these unplanned announcements are about delays but we never really know what’s going on. Except that we do. In Japan trains run on time but sometimes there are accidents; accidents being the neat Japanese euphemism for suicides.

Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and as grotesque as this will sound, the trains are the number one method to this end. One of the train lines that I live on, the Chuo line, is dubbed the ‘Suo’ line because it’s the most popular line for suicides. Why? Because it is the line with the cheapest clean-up costs for the family. Sometimes people talk about a ‘chuo-cide’ and (urban) (Tokyo) legend has it that there is one stretch along the Chuo line with the highest density of ‘accidents’ because that is where the express train reaches top speed and thus where death is potentially the most quick and painless.

It’s peculiar to participate in this. While referring to suicides as accidents certainly removes people from the reality of the action, everybody is drawn in. For example, although the Chuo line is the most frequent line at my station I don’t take it because it is also the most unreliable. If there is an ‘accident’ I could miss my connection and be late to work. It’s not that ‘accidents’ happen every day, but especially because I can’t make an educated decision about what to do when there is a delay (I just don’t have enough Japanese) it is not a risk that makes sense for me to take.

When I am caught in a delay, I’m immediately annoyed and worried if I’ll be able to get to my destination on time (the majority of the delays I’ve experienced have been on my way to work). But to stop and think I realize – somebody just died. Not only did they die, they were so miserable they killed themselves.

Granted, suicide doesn’t have the taboo in Japan that it does in America, and misery might not have the same meaning. It can certainly arise from a completely different set of circumstances. Ritual or honor suicide is embedded in Japanese history and to this day conformity, honor and shame are extremely potent in modern Japanese society. I know that I understand relatively very little of Japan’s past, but even knowing that context I feel that people kill themselves over issues that do not merit suicide.

In my nearly 6 months in Japan I’ve experienced a small handful of delays, but Saturday was different. My friend and I were sitting on the train weakly attempting to weigh the situation after the announcement ended; hoping aloud that somebody would tell us in English what was going on. The woman next to me turned around and said “there has been an accident; they don’t know how long it will take.” She then exited the train.

That is what got me thinking. This is the first time I’ve heard a Japanese person talk about the so-called ‘accident’ at hand. The ease with which she explained it really struck me. In Japan train ‘accidents’ are accepted as a fact of life. In fact, not too long ago a student and I were discussing the relative merits of the Keio line versus the Chuo line and while I was measuring their worth by the time of their last train, he simply stated, ‘the Keio line has less accidents.’ This is just one small example – and many instances like this have passed without unduly capturing my attention – but that particular moment spoke volumes to me. Maybe the woman rushed off the train to hide her emotion, perhaps to shed a tear; she probably didn’t. But honestly, I can’t say that I did either.