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Woman killed in bullet train fire suicide was on peace pilgrimage

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Woman killed in bullet train fire suicide was on peace pilgrimage

The irony!

0 ( +8 / -8 )

**The Sponichi tabloid reported Hayashizaki, who lived alone, had complained to neighbors he “could not live properly because his pension was small”.

But the reason for choosing such a public suicide—one that could have had disastrous consequences for those on board the bullet train—remained a mystery.**

Yes, remains a mystery.... until you realise that this was carried out on June 29th, exactly one year to the day that another anti constitution change protestor set fire to himself just outside JR Shinjuku station.

Great spin by the tabloids eh ?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This story brings to light (no pun intended) two issues and a question:

If you want to commit suicide, fine. But don't involve other people in your attempt. Others may not feel the same way.

The amount of working people paying into the pension system is shrinking rapidly. What can be done about it?

Also, a few other questions about this story. Can people bring filled fuel containers on trains with them? Or.... Did Hiyashizaki douse himself before he went onboard? Did he do this to give his wife life insurance money?

2 ( +6 / -4 )

so what I take from this is the shinkansen is not prepared and has not been prepared for a fire on board,,,

Sure it is. You've seen the "No Smoking" signs.

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Probably, this man did it publicly because he wanted his suicide to be reported widely or was so big a fan of the bullet train that he wanted to take it one last time before he dies.

He could just have been out of his mind though.

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But the reason for choosing such a public suicide—one that could have had disastrous consequences for those on board the bullet train—remained a mystery.

Maybe the writer doesn't know it but public suicides are a way of life (no pun intended) here in Japan. They are not rare at all. Also, that suicide definitely had disastrous consequences for the woman who was the main topic of the article.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Why are people writing on her FB page? Not like she's going to read the posts.

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Seeing how filled with smoke the cars were really shows how poorly designed they are to deal with fire. While I'm sure having some form of sprinkler system installed would be too much work, it seems like they could use some better form of ventilation.

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I feel sorry for the family of this woman who did nothing to deserve this. As for the guy, his name should be "mud." I just hope this idiot doesn't inspire others to want to do this type of thing. I would have thought that there was some type of fire suppression system that doused the cabins with water in case of a fire, so I am curious as to what are the fire and life safety for these trains.

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Media here, including this article, is glossing over the responsibility of JR. Shinkansen cars all hermetically sealed. What happens with the smoke if there is a fire? Pushing the emergency button doesn't actually stop the train like in other countries. Conductor needed to walk up from several cars back to investigate and it was another 10 minutes before the train was stopped and doors were opened. This delay probably resulted in the fatality and critical injuries to passengers.

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where acts of public violence are extremely rare

was

Reporting of public violence has increased dramatically these past years

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

I would like to point out the irony of the entire article. A man sets himself on fire killing someone who all she wanted was peace.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

I would have thought that there was some type of fire suppression system that doused the cabins with water in case of a fire,

And yet this fire (gasoline) would have been made worse by one.

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where acts of public violence are extremely rare

was

Reporting of public violence has increased dramatically these past years

Yes, reports have. Better reporting. Acts of public violence are still extremely rare.

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Had someone like a family member gone with her on the "peace pilgrimage" might the outcome been different for Ms. Kuwahara I wonder...

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

fire is not something you can prepare much for, you can work on containing electric fire, or class a from a cigarette in a seat cushion. however accelerants in a closed space- very tough.

fire extinguishers can only really be used when most of the passengers are out- as they remove air water sprinklers mean carrying water tanks and that equals weight-3.99 kg of water (approx 1 US gallon) you would need about 1000 gallon per car for a sprinkler system - and water shifts... so corners are a problem at speed

so water is out

no i suspect the train was as safe as any could have been and the train crew operated as well as any could.

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"I would like to point out the irony of the entire article."

Thank you so much. Until you spoke up, it'd sailed entirely over my head.

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Jalapeno JUL. 02, 2015 - 09:19AM JST Why are people writing on her FB page? Not like she's going to read the posts.

Probably because it's a natural human instinct to feel an emotional response to the deaths of people who resonate with you, and one way that some people deal with that emotion is to express their thoughts to the deceased, even knowing the deceased will not hear them. We're wired to be social animals, so some of us find great comfort dealing with stress through our social intelligence, regardless of if we're actually in the company of others.

As for the original article, I really wonder what will come of this and I'm disappointed JT hasn't covered it more. Three interesting questions come to mind:

Will people demand more security checks to use the shinkansen, and how will JR implement them? In the lead up to the Olympics no doubt many people will think the shink needs to be more secure. Maybe they're right, but if getting on board becomes anything like boarding a plane, one of the reasons I prefer the bullet train so much will be lost.

Will this high-profile suicide of an elderly person complaining about living on his pension benefits reduce support for the Abe administration's moves to reduce social security payouts in the future?

and...

“I’m really sorry you were involved in an incident caused by a selfish person. I hope there will be no such painful event in the future,” another wrote.

Dare we dream that a high profile case of a suicidal person causing death and destruction through their own attempt finally puts a crack in the armor of the idea so common in Japan that suicide is a way to take responsibility for mistakes? Not that demonizing people who attempt suicide as selfish is as good as rationally recognizing the effects of depression and building a society that attempts to deal with them, but it's a hell of a lot better than very nearly endorsing suicide as a positive way to deal with trouble.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Jalapeno "Why are people writing on her FB page? Not like she's going to read the posts."

Maybe other friends of her want to read the posts? Think first, write later!

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AIMS Our public forums include many differing opinions and experiences. You are certain to find opinions that you disagree with and some that you may find offensive. Our aim at all times is to provide a place where the maximum discussion can take place, even if it offends some people.

We try to be as fair as we can when moderating but in a large community of users, with many different viewpoints, there will always be some people that will not be happy with our moderation policies. While we regret that this happens, please realize that we cannot suit all of the people all of the time and have to make decisions based on what is best for the forum overall.

This is all a load of tosh really, as I've had every post this morning deleted. Due to the mods being vindictive little guttersnipes

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Hayashizaki’s dramatic suicide has shocked Japan, where acts of public violence are extremely rare, and has led to calls for stepped up security on the vast bullet train network.

Please no China Railway style ID and security checks at stations.

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Maybe if he did not waste petrol and ride the most expensive train, his pension would not feel so small.

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@FermFully re

''This story brings to light (no pun intended) two issues and a question:

If you want to commit suicide, fine. But don't involve other people in your attempt. Others may not feel the same way.''

This man wanted a public suicide he was protesting something, perhaps his small pension issues. So he wanted to go out in public as a kabuki gesture. Tragic, and sad. And yes, sadly he killed an innocent passenger.

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I guess the gasoline on him didn't give off a bad odor, or no one wanted to ask him why he smelt like gas. I would have figured that with all of the smokers in Japan, if had doused himself before he left home, he should have been a fireball well before he got to the station with all of the smokers I have seen around here.

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@Alpha

He poured the petrol on himself thirty minutes into the journey. It'd previously been in his rucksack.

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CGB - Read the sarcasm first, write later.

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Bad day for her, and the idiot who offed himself on the train should have is ashes flushed don the loo

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There's no doubting that he was wanting to make a statement of some sorts. But if he'd wanted to kill as many people as possible or really grab attention then why didn't he sit in or move up to a car in the middle of the train? Witnesses also report that he was agitated for quite some time prior to dousing himself and even told people to leave the car. I would also speculate that most of the folks in the car clicked as to what he was up to and got the heck out of there, pronto, which is why there weren't more deaths. Also, see the TV footage to understand, but why on earth was the connecting door left open?? Anyway, I hope the real reason is revealed to the masses soon. I doubt it's anything to do with his pension. That reason just doesn't seem to carry enough weight.

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I guess the gasoline on him didn't give off a bad odor, or no one wanted to ask him why he smelt like gas.

A guy they were interviewing on the news said it happened really quickly. He just started pouring gas and then lit himself on fire quickly. The guy said he didn't expect him to light himself on fire so quickly.

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He “could not live properly because his pension was small” yet he bought a ticket for the Shinkansen train, he could hot have been that poor, could he? I just feel sorry for the poor lady who died, I hope some one above sees and forgives.

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He “could not live properly because his pension was small” yet he bought a ticket for the Shinkansen train, he could hot have been that poor, could he?

Do you really not see the failure in that logic?

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no i suspect the train was as safe as any could have been and the train crew operated as well as any could.

Clearly that is not the case if it took abouty 10 minutes for the train to stop after the alarm was pulled.

Personally, I welcome bags being scanned before boarding. If it is too much of a pain in the butt for some, don't travel that way. England and France have it for the train on the chunnel and it doesn't take that long. Nor does airport security when checking in.

And yes, JR is dodging their responsibility. Why on earth was smoke "allowed" to travel through that many carriages?

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Clearly that is not the case if it took abouty 10 minutes for the train to stop after the alarm was pulled.

How does that make it clear? Bullet trains can't stop on a dime.

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Clearly that is not the case if it took abouty 10 minutes for the train to stop after the alarm was pulled.

The bullet train was in a tunnel when the fire started so the driver waited until the train was completely out of the tunnel before stopping. In the meantime, a JR staff on board came and put out the fire. You can read more about it here :

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20150701-00000004-jct-soci

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