7 commit suicide after posting suicidal messages online in 2008

TOKYO, Feb. 12 Kyodo -
Seven people committed suicide in 2008 after posting online messages suggesting
suicidal action, according to a National Police Agency survey released
Thursday.

The seven are some of the 176 people police traced last year based on
information on suicidal suggestions given by Internet providers. The number of
such postings in the reporting year was up 71 from 2007.
Three other people were saved by police officers who arrived on scene and 92
people were dissuaded from killing themselves.
The survey found that 74 Internet posts suggesting suicidal action were
discovered to be false. Police were unable to identify the authors of the
remaining 20 messages.
In 2008, the police requested that Internet providers disclose information on
180 messages, up 59 from 2007 -- 112 posted on online message boards, 60 via
e-mail and eight via online chat sites.
Police received information on 15 suicidal messages from the people who said
they would commit suicide, 92 messages from the general public, 47 messages
from Net site managers and eight messages from the Internet Hotline Center, an
entity the NPA operates indirectly.
==Kyodo