Japanese scandal-tainted minister kills himself. Hmmmmmmm.........

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUST34716820070528

TOKYO - A scandal-tainted minister in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet has committed suicide, media reported on Monday, compounding problems for the Japanese leader whose support had already dived ahead of a July election.

Karl? Alberto? Scooter? Jack? Duke? Hammer? Brownie? Foley?
Are any of you reading this?

[Kagemusha]

1. I don't get why DU'ers are cheering this.

Sorry.

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

3. No cheers at all. Just making a cultural observation.

In America, there's a rosy post-scandal future for you on a corporate board or reality TV. In Japan, they experience extreme shame and remorse. We could use more shame and remorse, though I'm not advocating taking it to the limit.

[Nikia]

4. I'm not applauding this culturual practice either

It is better than "honor killings" that murder rape victims or girls who had premarital sex, especially with someone undesirable, but it follows the same idea. If you are tainted, you deserve to die. There is no forgiveness or redemption in life. The only way to save face is to die.
It may make good literature and film, but in real life it prevents forgiveness and reconciliation and sacrafices someone who did not need to die. Glorifying suicide is not a positive culturual practice.

[Kagemusha]

5. It's running away.

Killing yourself means never having to face trial, never having to live out your humiliation in front of your peers and family and the nation. It's not "expected". It's not encouraged. It's not called for by the masses of the gladitorial arena. It's one man making a decision to take the easy way out and take all the power away from the justice system and his victims and to monopolize the power over himself, by himself.

The only real difference here is the degree to which a structure exists that will never abandon you no matter what crimes you have committed, like for Scooter Libby, Oliver North, etc etc... but again, I'm saying, as I see it, Japanese society does not tell these people they deserve to die. They choose this option as a means to escape society's judgment. As in, he's dead, can't kick him around any further, he's dead after all. It forces society to respect him because of his death, and because of his death alone.

Nothing to be admired.

[malaise]

2. Japanese understand shame

Thee goons are shameless.