TELL Kansai Suicide Prevention Walks

I was on my way back home at Nagahoribashi subway station. It was around 9 pm and I was walking towards my platform when I saw some quick movement in the corner of my eye. The train just came in on the left side, while a man was jumping back. Then I heard a strange tone that sounded like a dog's yelp. It felt like it went on forever. Was it the train's sound?

It stopped and though all people froze on the platform, at first it seemed everyone was refusing to believe what had just happened in front of our eyes. But reality pushed itself forward and denial gave in: it was clear now that a person had thrown him/herself in front of the train. 

Japan is known for it's high suicide rate. Roughly 65 people take their own lives every day.

65!

That's just an unbelievable number.

Worldwide a person dies every 40 seconds.

Suicide claims around a million lives each year. 

Next week, I will be taking part in a Suicide Prevention Walk in Osaka (that's also taking place in Kobe, Kyoto and Tokyo), organised by TELL Japan. We want to raise awareness, create space for this topic and combat suicide in our communities. 

You might not live in Osaka but you can walk with us and effectively communicate about this topic and mental illness in other places in the world since September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. 

This year's theme is "Connect, Communicate, Care". You can read more about this here on TELL website. 

Below I'll share a video with you of a man who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge and survived. He says that the moment he jumped off the bridge he regretted his decision. 

Nobody really wants to die!

If we were able to communicate with people who struggle and speak more openly about these topics then that's already a huge step! 

Let's be there for our loved ones, for friends and for our communities on September 10th by walking together. 

Please contact me for more information on the Kansai walks. Thank you.