Aokigahara: Forest of Death

There is one place located at the base of Mt. Fuji, Japan: Aokigahara aka the Sea of Trees, In Aokigahara there has been over 500 confirmed suicides since the 1950s. Aokigahara is the world’s second most popular place for suicide (the Golden Gate Bridge being the first).

 

 

From a 1993 bestselling book, The Complete Suicide Manual, inside of it, it describes various modes of suicide and recommends Aokigahara as the perfect place to die. This book is commonly found from the suicide victims with their belongings. The most common method of suicide in Aokigahara is hanging from the trees.Japan's suicide rate is notoriously one of the highest among the world, and with this suicide manual, it's very terrible. 

 

 

There is a legend that in the ancient times, families would abandon people in the forest when there was no food for them. By sacrificing their family members, at least it would be enough food for the rest of the family. Those abandoned in the forest often died of starvation. Therefore, Aokigahara is also said to be a place where haunted by the souls of those abandoned people. There are also many ghost stories that associated with Aokigahara. 

However, that doesn't mean the Japanese government has done nothing to prevent people from suicide in the forest. They have actually given a lot of efforts and provided any help they could. Around the forest, you can see a lot of signboards above, saying “Your life is a precious gift from your parents,” and “Please consult with the police before you decide to die,”nevertheless, they are proved to be ineffective as the suicide rate has been climbing up rapidly.

As there are too much suicides in Aokigahara, the government have to do sweeps of the forest annually to search for and clear out bodies. A local police officer said, “I’ve seen plenty of bodies that have been really badly decomposed, or been picked at by wild animals. There’s nothing beautiful about dying in there.”

Suicide Forest in Japan: Aokigahara Documentary