Japan's population is the world's oldest. An economist therefore encourages mass suicide - and later does not want to have meant it that way.
A professor at Yale University has suggested that elderly Japanese should commit mass suicide to solve the country's demographic problem. Yusuka Narita suggested this in various interviews and public appearances, reports the New York Times. The economist has thus achieved cult status among Japanese young people. The economist also got an advertising contract for energy drinks because of his popularity.
Japan is the country with the highest proportion of elderly people in the world. According to official figures, around 28 percent of the population is 65 years of age or older - a total of almost 36 million people.
According to the newspaper, Narita said in an interview with a Japanese news channel that he gave a "rather clear solution" to demographic development - the so-called "seppuku" of older people. This term describes the ritual suicide of samurai. It was banned at the end of the 19th century. In a later conversation, he referred to a scene in the horror film "Midsommar" in which elderly people commit suicide by throwing themselves off a cliff. "It's difficult to answer whether that's good or bad," the newspaper quoted the 37-year-old as saying. "If you think that's a good thing, maybe you can work hard to build that kind of society."
Narita, who is from Japan, told the newspaper that his comments were taken out of context. He only used "mass suicide" and "seppuku" as "abstract metaphors". He is primarily concerned with criticizing the dominance of "tycoons" in Japan. It is a problem if only older people hold leading positions in business and politics and thus block the way for younger people.
Previously, he had also discussed euthanasia. In this context, he mentioned his mother, who fell ill as a teenager, and whose care costs him around 760 euros a month. These statements met with sharp criticism from Japanese politicians. According to the newspaper, they fear that Narita will help create a mood like that of late 1940s Japan. At that time, a law was passed that allowed the sterilization of people with hereditary diseases or mental illnesses.
Narita is not known outside of Japan. On Twitter, however, he has around 570,000 followers. He appears on Japanese shows and can be found on magazine covers. He describes himself on Twitter as follows: "The things you are forbidden to say are usually true."
