Suicide in Japan: Part Four
- Determining Suicide as the Cause of Death

J. Sean Curtin (Fellow, GLOCOM)

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.

Who makes the determination that a particular death is the result of suicide? This is a question frequently asked by people when they read about a case of suicide in a Japanese newspaper. As in most countries, Japan has a well-established procedure for the completion of a death certificate and it is the outcome of this process that eventually determines how a death will be classified.

For example, if someone dies in a Japanese hospital, a doctor normally fills out the death certificate, stating the cause of death. This is known as a Medical Certificate of Death. When death occurs outside of medical care, the police normally conduct an investigation and take charge of issuing the death certificate which in this instance is called the Legal Certificate of Death.

Generally, when death occurs outside of a medical facility or the deceased was not under medical supervision at the time of death, the police usually conduct an investigation to determine the cause of death. Occasionally investigations will also be conducted at a hospital, if there are any unusual or suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. Police normally always investigate cases of suspected suicide.

For example, if someone dies as the result of being hit by a train, the police conduct an investigation which determines if the death was the result of suicide, an accident or even murder. In the case of a suicide, it is the police who determine from the available evidence whether or not someone deliberately took their own life. When the information gathered at the incident scene is not sufficient for the police to determine if the death was caused by accident or suicide, the coroner's findings are often crucial.

Take the above example of a person who dies after falling in front of a train. If it was suspected that the victim was drunk and accidentally fell in front of a train, then the coroner's report will provide vital information. The coroner will normally conduct an autopsy and in conjunction with the death-scene evidence and witness statements the police will attempt to ascertain the most probable cause of death. Witness statements are often useful in suicide cases as they can help the police more easily identify the victim's intent.

After investigations are complete, the cause of death will be noted on the death certificate. Sometimes, it is not possible to clearly determine whether a death was the result of an accident or suicide. These kinds of cases will be looked at in the next article in this series (part five).

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.