Current Events > A Yale Professor suggest there should be mass Japanese suicide.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1624795488057786373

Seems a little extreme.

__starsnostars posted...

Seems a little extreme.

Yes. God and jeebus seriously frown upon taking own life

So is the whole glasses with different-shaped lenses thing a trend? Or can I just assume this person is a looney tune at first sight?

wtf @ that nytimes title. What do they mean what did he mean?

It's a modest proposal.

When I grow up I'm going to Bovine University!

He should lead the way.

Asshole.

We should do this here

I can think of a few names

paywall

Yale professor forgets he is not on 4chan

Will it not work unless there's ritual disembowelments?

dameon_reaper posted...

Will it not work unless there's ritual disembowelments?

...who says the users here aren't very bright?

Not paying to read it, so can only go off the headline.

Which is a shame, because I'd be interested in the context, and don't entirely trust the title to not be clickbait. Saying it's the "only solution" is not the same as saying "let's do it." Japan does have a massive problem with its severe decline in birth rate, and massively growing elderly population. The statement saying "yeah, this is a problem, and the only way it wouldn't be a problem would be if this huge demographic were to suddenly and rapidly shrink" isn't in and of itself wrong.

That said, the bit about seppuku is definitely sus, and makes me less inclined to give benefit of the doubt, here.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is, fuck paywalls.

Alteres posted...

...who says the users here aren't very bright?

It says "mass suicide" and then "including" the ritual disembowelments. I was joking about the wording as in "its not going to work if they just kill themselves, they have to do the whole shabang. I mean...they cut out their guts and get their heads lopped off as part of samurai ritual. Geeze

He must work on AI

What the hell are those glasses? >_>

Those glasses tell me all I need to know about that tool.

The disembowlment makes no sense in this nonsensical proposal.

dameon_reaper posted...

It says "mass suicide" and then "including" the ritual disembowelments. I was joking about the wording as in "its not going to work if they just kill themselves, they have to do the whole shabang. I mean...they cut out their guts and get their heads lopped off as part of samurai ritual. Geeze

I wasn't talking down to or insulting you, I was saying that should be a tip that perhaps people here aren't looking at this in the right way... but what do I know.

Alteres posted...

I wasn't talking down to or insulting you, I was saying that should be a tip that perhaps people here aren't looking at this in the right way... but what do I know.

Oh. Alright. That's fair. I have a dark sense of humor. And unless this is a discussion about what's coming in the next few months in place of E3, I can assume that it was his opinion. I don't agree with it but...I made light of it.

His pronouncements could hardly sound more drastic.

In interviews and public appearances, Yusuke Narita, an assistant professor of economics at Yale, has taken on the question of how to deal with the burdens of Japans rapidly aging society.

I feel like the only solution is pretty clear, he said during one online news program in late 2021. In the end, isnt it mass suicide and mass seppuku of the elderly? Seppuku is an act of ritual disembowelment that was a code among dishonored samurai in the 19th century.

Last year, when asked by a school-age boy to elaborate on his mass seppuku theories, Dr. Narita graphically described to a group of assembled students a scene from Midsommar, a 2019 horror film in which a Swedish cult sends one of its oldest members to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff.

Whether thats a good thing or not, thats a more difficult question to answer, Dr. Narita told the questioner as he assiduously scribbled notes. So if you think thats good, then maybe you can work hard toward creating a society like that.

At other times, he has broached the topic of euthanasia. The possibility of making it mandatory in the future, he said in one interview, will come up in discussion.

Dr. Narita, 37, said that his statements had been taken out of context, and that he was mainly addressing a growing effort to push the most senior people out of leadership positions in business and politics to make room for younger generations. Nevertheless, with his comments on euthanasia and social security, he has pushed the hottest button in Japan.
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A nursing home in Japan. The country is grappling with growing numbers of older people who suffer from dementia or die alone.Credit...Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

While he is virtually unknown even in academic circles in the United States, his extreme positions have helped him gain hundreds of thousands of followers on social media in Japan among frustrated youths who believe their economic progress has been held back by a gerontocratic society.

Appearing frequently on Japanese online shows in T-shirts, hoodies or casual jackets, and wearing signature eyeglasses with one round and one square lens, Dr. Narita leans into his Ivy League pedigree as he fosters a nerdy shock jock impression. He is among a few Japanese provocateurs who have found an eager audience by gleefully breaching social taboos. His Twitter bio: The things youre told youre not allowed to say are usually true.

Last month, several commenters discovered Dr. Naritas remarks and began spreading them on social media. During a panel discussion on a respected internet talk show with scholars and journalists, Yuki Honda, a University of Tokyo sociologist, described his comments as hatred toward the vulnerable.

A growing group of critics warn that Dr. Naritas popularity could unduly sway public policy and social norms. Given Japans low birthrate and the highest public debt in the developed world, policymakers increasingly worry about how to fund Japans expanding pension obligations. The country is also grappling with growing numbers of older people who suffer from dementia or die alone.

In written answers to emailed questions, Dr. Narita said he was primarily concerned with the phenomenon in Japan, where the same tycoons continue to dominate the worlds of politics, traditional industries, and media/entertainment/journalism for many years.
The phrases mass suicide and mass seppuku, he wrote, were an abstract metaphor.

I should have been more careful about their potential negative connotations, he added. After some self-reflection, I stopped using the words last year.
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A book by Dr. Narita that is being translated into English.Credit...Bea Oyster for The New York Times

His detractors say his repeated remarks on the subject have already spread dangerous ideas.

Its irresponsible, said Masaki Kubota, a journalist who has written about Dr. Narita. People panicking about the burdens of an aging society might think, Oh, my grandparents are the ones who are living longer, Mr. Kubota said, and we should just get rid of them.

Masato Fujisaki, a columnist, argued in Newsweek Japan that the professors remarks should not be easily taken as a metaphor. Dr. Naritas fans, Mr. Fujisaki said, are people who think that old people should just die already and social welfare should be cut.

Despite a culture of deference to older generations, ideas about culling them have surfaced in Japan before. A decade ago, Taro Aso the finance minister at the time and now a power broker in the governing Liberal Democratic Party suggested that old people should hurry up and die.

Last year, Plan 75, a dystopian movie by the Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa, imagined cheerful salespeople wooing retirees into government-sponsored euthanasia. In Japanese folklore, families carry older relatives to the top of mountains or remote corners of forests and leave them to die.

Dr. Naritas language, particularly when he has mentioned mass suicide, arouses historical sensitivities in a country where young men were sent to their deaths as kamikaze pilots during World War II and Japanese soldiers ordered thousands of families in Okinawa to commit suicide rather than surrender.

Critics worry that his comments could summon the kinds of sentiments that led Japan to pass a eugenics law in 1948, under which doctors forcibly sterilized thousands of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or genetic disorders. In 2016, a man who believed those with disabilities should be euthanized murdered 19 people at a care home outside Tokyo.

In his day job, Dr. Narita conducts technical research of computerized algorithms used in education and health care policy. But as a regular presence across numerous internet platforms and on television in Japan, he has grown increasingly popular, appearing on magazine covers, comedy shows and in an advertisement for energy drinks. He has even spawned an imitator on TikTok.

He often appears with Gen X rabble-rousers like Hiroyuki Nishimura, a celebrity entrepreneur and owner of 4chan, the online message board where some of the internets most toxic ideas bloom, and Takafumi Horie, a trash-talking entrepreneur who once went to prison for securities fraud.
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Hiroyuki Nishimura, center, who owns 4chan. He and Mr. Narita are part of a handful of Japanese provocateurs who seem to enjoy breaching social taboos.Credit...Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

At times, he has pushed the boundaries of taste. At a panel hosted by Globis, a Japanese graduate business school, Dr. Narita told the audience that if this can become a Japanese society where people like you all commit seppuku one after another, it wouldnt be just a social security policy but it would be the best Cool Japan policy. Cool Japan is a government program promoting the countrys cultural products.

Shocking or not, some lawmakers say Dr. Naritas ideas are opening the door to much-needed political conversations about pension reform and changes to social welfare. There is criticism that older people are receiving too much pension money and the young people are supporting all the old people, even those who are wealthy, said Shun Otokita, 39, a member of the upper house of Parliament with Nippon Ishin no Kai, a right-leaning party.

But detractors say Dr. Narita highlights the burdens of an aging population without suggesting realistic policies that could alleviate some of the pressures.
Hes not focusing on helpful strategies such as better access to day care or broader inclusion of women in the work force or broader inclusion of immigrants, said Alexis Dudden, a historian at the University of Connecticut who studies modern Japan. Things that might actually invigorate Japanese society.

In broaching euthanasia, Dr. Narita has spoken publicly of his mother, who had an aneurysm when he was 19. In an interview with a website where families can search for nursing homes, Dr. Narita described how even with insurance and government financing, his mothers care cost him 100,000 yen or about $760 a month.
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Dr. Narita at home in New Haven, Conn. His extreme positions have helped him gain hundreds of thousands of followers on social media in Japan.Credit...Bea Oyster for The New York Times

Some surveys in Japan have indicated that a majority of the public supports legalizing voluntary euthanasia. But Mr. Naritas reference to a mandatory practice spooks ethicists. Currently, every country that has legalized the practice only allows it if the person wants it themselves, said Fumika Yamamoto, a professor of philosophy at Tokyo City University.

In his emailed responses, Dr. Narita said that euthanasia (either voluntary or involuntary) is a complex, nuanced issue.
I am not advocating its introduction, he added. I predict it to be more broadly discussed.

At Yale, Dr. Narita sticks to courses on probability, statistics, econometrics and education and labor economics.

Neither Tony Smith, the department chair in economics, nor a spokesperson for Yale replied to requests for comment.

Josh Angrist, who has won the Nobel in economic science and was one of Dr. Naritas doctoral supervisors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said his former student was a talented scholar with an offbeat sense of humor.

I would like to see Yusuke continue a very promising career as a scholar, Dr. Angrist said. So my main concern in a case like his is that hes being distracted by other things, and thats kind of a shame.

I hate old people and I wouldnt even suggest this

Lmao this mf wants them to commit seppuku

**looks like I might have been wrong, I haven't read that, just skimmed it

-Read it, yeah he sounds like a bit of a head case who wishes he were howard stern

This is some real "AI Prompt" nonsense. Sort of a thing that in a literal sense solves the issue, but the second a human gets involved the fact that this is horrifying/inhumane/etc. is a bit too obvious for anyone to think that this is anything but a terrible idea. Hopefully he isn't ever tasked with solving world hunger.

People need to put him on a watch list as he is clearly influencing the younger generation and no one should ignore what that could lead to if the majority of voting japanese people support this psychopaths ideas.

Japan needs to have the yakuza pay him a visit.

Brilliant posted...

It's a modest proposal.

Indeed.

But what did he mean??????????

The obvious solution is to send otakus over there

First, this guy is an absolute idiot. Second Japan is already dealing with a population decrease due to younger generations having less kids.

Second Japan is already dealing with a population decrease due to younger generations having less kids.

That's why he's proposing this (I'm assuming, I didn't read the article).

__starsnostars posted...

Second Japan is already dealing with a population decrease due to younger generations having less kids.

That's why he's proposing this (I'm assuming, I didn't read the article).

I didn't either because I am not paying to read it.

Alteres posted...

Appearing frequently on Japanese online shows in T-shirts, hoodies or casual jackets, and wearing signature eyeglasses with one round and one square lens, Dr. Narita leans into his Ivy League pedigree as he fosters a nerdy shock jock impression. He is among a few Japanese provocateurs who have found an eager audience by gleefully breaching social taboos. His Twitter bio: The things youre told youre not allowed to say are usually true.

oh

he's one of those

lol

Monolith1676 posted...

I didn't either because I am not paying to read it.

It's not at all difficult. Stop the page from loading before it loads the box telling you to subscribe. Boom, now you can read the article.

When asked to defend his views, Narita showed a clip from the 2019 movie called Midsommar, in which a cult coerced an elderly member of the group to jump off a cliff.
Whether thats a good thing or not, thats a more difficult question to answer. So, if you think thats good, then maybe you can work hard toward creating a society like that, he said.

lmao this guy

Logans run

Alteres posted...

Yep, that's a "yikes and a half" from me. Certainly hope that promotion to "Former Yale Professor" is coming.

The Ivy League is at it again

well if the economy ever really goes to hell the old people will be the first ones the government stops paying to take care of

cutting medicare means lots of people wouldn't be able to afford to live in nursing homes anymore

Given Japans low birthrate and the highest public debt in the developed world, policymakers increasingly worry about how to fund Japans expanding pension obligations.

Found the problem. Governments all over the planet desperately need to get out of the habit of spending money that does not exist.