Record number of Japanese die in internet-linked suicides

A record number of Japanese people died in group suicides involving the internet in 2005, but an online crackdown has slowed the pace, police said today.

Police said a record 91 people died in 34 internet-linked suicide cases last year, up from 55 people in 19 cases in 2004.

This was the highest number of such deaths since police started keeping records in 2003, according to Yoshikuni Masuyama, an official at the IT crimes unit of the National Police Agency.

But the internet-linked deaths slowed later in the year after police launched an online crackdown with the co-operation of internet service providers, Masuyama said.