The Sea of Trees

In I wrote about a documentary entitled, The Bridge. The film reveals several stories of individuals who have jumped to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The bridge is considered the most popular suicidal destinations.  Director Eric Steel and his crew spent all of 2004 documenting around the clock. The film captured 23 people jumping from the bridge.

Today I came across this 20 minute documentary by Vice Magazine. The Aokigahara Forest also known as The Sea of Trees, is the second most popular suicide destination. Up to 100 people flock to the forest to commit suicide every year.

The forest lies at the north west base of Mount Fuji in Japan. The high suicide rate has resulted in posted signs within the forest which encourage suicidal individuals to choose life over death. The signs are posted in Japanese and in English. Annual body search, consisting of a small army of police, volunteers and attendant journalists, began in 1970.

I am posting this video in the hopes to provide some insight into the concept of suicide and to promote prevention.


Aokigahara Suicide Forest PART 1


Aokigahara Suicide Forest PART 2

Resources:
For nformation about the International Association for Suicide Prevention click here.

To visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website click here.

If you are currently in crisis call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)