Nine Dead in Two Japanese Group Suicides

CNN News is noting the following.

Their article, "Nine dead in Japan 'group suicide'," for Friday, March 10, 2006, reads in part:

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japanese police are investigating two separate cases of suspected group suicide after nine people were found dead in parked cars, the latest in a series of such cases.

Five men and one woman were found dead in a station wagon in Saitama prefecture, just north of Tokyo, a police spokesman said.

He noted that charcoal stoves were found in the car but declined to give further details, citing ongoing investigations. The charcoal generates carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas.

Separately, a man and two women were found dead in a sealed car parked in the foothills of a mountain in Aomori prefecture, some 570 km (280 miles) north of Tokyo, a police spokesman said.

In this case too, charcoal stoves were found in the car with the three, who were undergoing treatment for mental illness and may have met at hospital, an Aomori police spokesman said.
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We have noted that copycats like this, in Japan, come in waves, and this may be an indication of some future activity here.

Thanks to Ben Radford for alerting us to this news item.