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Another Japan Suicide
Following this week's suicide of Japanese cabinet minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, a former excutive, also implicated in a corruption scandal, has taken his own life.
Mr Matsuoka hanged himself from the door of his flat Monday, only hours before he was due to face questions from a pariamentary committee inquiry in Tokyo.
Twenty-four hours later, Shinichi Yamazaki, wearing pyjamas, plunged from his building into a car park in the city of Yokohama.
Mr Yamazaki was a former director of a government-affiliated agency that is alleged to have rigged contracts for public forestry projects for the benefit of political donors of Toshikatsu Matsuoka, the former agriculture minister. This is according to The Times.
The suicides have plunged the government of prime minister Shinzo Abe into a deep crisis. Political analysts say it will now be difficult for Mr Abe's ruling coalition to hold on to its majority.
Mr Matsuoka reportedly left suicide notes, including one addressed to the prime minister and the public, apologising for his actions.
Hara-kiri, often incorrectly spelt hari-kiri - ceremonial suicide by ripping open the belly with a sword - is a macabre ancient tradition in Japan.
Sadly, today, there is proof that hara-kiri may have altered in format, but the practice is not dead.
Footnote: Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates. In 2005, 24 people per 100,000 killed themselves, compared with 10 in the US and 17 in Britain. Source: World Health Organisation.
