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• In Japan, the use of a lethal gas, created by mixing a certain brand of detergent with bath salts, is an increasingly popular method of suicide.Washington Post: When Suicide Conflicts With Japan's Polite Society (May 28, 2008)

  Police in Japan are urging internet service providers to block websites which publish instructions on how to produce the hydrogen sulfide gas.Washington Post: When Suicide Conflicts With Japan's Polite Society (May 28, 2008)

• Fast Facts

  1. Suicide method reportedly gained popularity via instructions posted on the InternetWashington Post: When Suicide Conflicts With Japan's Polite Society (May 28, 2008)
  2. Japan has the ninth highest suicide rate in the worldCNN: 54 ill as new toxic fume suicide hits Japan (May 22, 2008)
  3. Since 1998, the annual number of suicides in Japan has exceeded 30,000Washington Post: When Suicide Conflicts With Japan's Polite Society (May 28, 2008)
  4. 180+ suicides using this method from late March to June 4, 2008CNN: Toxic fumes suicide forces evacuation in Japan (June 4, 2008)

• Recent History

  Yet another detergent suicide forced residents of an apartment building to evacuate on June 4, 2008. 34 residents were evacuated and one woman was taken to the hospital. The suicide victim was in his late 20s.CNN: Toxic fumes suicide forces evacuation in Japan (June 4, 2008)

  On May 21, 2008, 54 hospital workers became sick after a man threw up in the hospital. It turns out he had ingested a pesticide used as tear gas during World War I.CNN: 54 ill as new toxic fume suicide hits Japan (May 22, 2008)

  On May 1, 2008, 350 people had to be evacuated from their homes in Otaru, northern Japan a man used this technique to killed himself.CNN: 54 ill as new toxic fume suicide hits Japan (May 22, 2008)

  On April 23, 2008, in Konan, Japan, a 14-year-old girl killed herself by mixing laundry detergent with a liquid cleanser. The gas seeped out a window and into neighboring apartments, sickening 90 people and causing 10 to be admitted to the hospital.CNN: 54 ill as new toxic fume suicide hits Japan (May 22, 2008)

• A Trend

  Police say they have dealt with several other similar suicides in 2008. A 31-year-old man outside Tokyo reportedly committed suicide in a car by mixing detergent with bath salts. On the same day, a 42-year-old woman reportedly killed herself in a bathtub in Nagoya, Japan, by mixing toilet cleaner and bath powder. This method of suicide has killed around 50 people in 2008.The Australian: Japan's latest fad: rotten egg gas (April 25, 2008)

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