Japan detergent suicide sparks panic

The panic in Otaru came just hours after national police urged Internet providers to crack down on Web sites spurring a wave of detergent-related suicides that have reported killed 50 people in the past month.

The rash of such suicides in Japan — which already has one of the world's highest suicide rates — has triggered widespread concern because the powerful fumes can seriously harm bystanders and rescuers.

In Otaru, on the northern island of Hokkaido, a 24-year-old man mixed the chemicals in his house after midnight. He died, and the gas — hydrogen sulfide — escaped his home, and neighbors were alerted by the smell, a Hokkaido police official said.

The man's 58-year-old mother, who was apparently overcome by the fumes, was found unconscious nearby and was taken to hospital. Police said she was recovering.

A total of about 350 neighbors fled to a nearby school playground for about two hours, until the fumes dispersed, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department protocol.

Just last week, at least 90 people were sickened by fumes in southwestern Japan after a teenage girl killed herself by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser in her apartment house.

On Wednesday, Japan's National Police Agency urged Internet providers to delete language from Web sites showing readers how to mix the chemicals, officials said Thursday. Some sites reportedly provide "poison gas" warnings that viewers can print out and hang on the outside of the door when they kill themselves.

The police request marked the first action against detergent suicides by the Japanese government, which has announced the goal of cutting the suicide rate by 20 percent in 10 years by reducing unemployment, boosting workplace counseling and filtering Web sites that promote suicide.

Reports said more than 50 people killed themselves by inhaling hydrogen sulfide gas in the past month. The police said they had yet to compile data on such deaths.

Seiji Yoshikawa, deputy head of the Internet Hot Line, which operates under the guideline of police, said the number of sites promoting detergent suicides "soared" in April with details showing how to make and use the deadly gas.

"They are rife on the Internet. Writing examples include 'you can die easily and beautifully' and 'this is much easier than charcoal-burning suicide," Yoshikawa said, referring to a once popular suicide method.

Hydrogen sulfide gas is colorless and characterized by an odor similar to that of rotten eggs. When inhaled, it can lead to suffocation or brain damage.

Suicides in Japan passed the 30,000 mark in 1998, near the height of an economic slump that left many bankrupt, jobless and desperate.

A total of 32,155 people killed themselves in 2006, giving the country the ninth highest suicide rate in the world, according to the government.

The government has earmarked $220 million for anti-suicide programs to help those with depression and other mental conditions.