Komabatodamae Station was the scene of a bizarre suicide yesterday as two men who seemingly had nothing to do with each other took their own lives by leaping in front of the same train.

At around noon on 11 August, an express train struck and killed the men after they jumped into its path about 20 meters apart.

One man who was in his 50s was confirmed dead at the scene. The other man, roughly a decade older, was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The incident caused a delay of about an hour on the Keio Inokashira Line.

Initial reports suggested that this was a random fluke where two suicides by train occurred on the same platform. Reaction online was largely unsympathetic, however, and most suspected that the two men had been planing to kill themselves together.

Japan’s Sports Hochi on 12 August reported that police had found a suicide note among one of the deceased’s belongings which confirms that the two men knew each other. However, the investigation is still ongoing and no motive has been reported at time of writing.

Although the suicides weren’t as bizarre as first thought, it doesn’t make the situation any less tragic for the witnesses on the train and the station as well as the two men’s families. It just serves as yet another reminder that more needs to be done both to prevent people taking their lives in this way and also to effect a change in society and help those struggling with depression.

Source: TBS News via Hachima Kiko, Sports Hochi (Japanese)
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