Adolescent self-destructive behavior and crisis intervention in Japan.

After the author cites his three unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide during World War II, he then reflects on his experiences in the past almost forty years (of this "bonus life") as a suicide-prevention counselor to Japanese youth, particularly at Kyoto University. His reflection are arranged under the following six headings: The gradual increase of self-destructive acts among adolescents in contemporary Japan; the background for this increase (including the affluent society, the change in the nuclear family, and the keen competition for higher education); the types and motives for adolescent suicide; the distinctive features of adolescent suicides in Japan; the role of crisis intervention; and thr role of " the human encounter." He concludes that the "increasing adolescent suicides is a 'silent indictment' of current society in Japan.