s using detergent involved in a spate of deaths across the nation, police and news reports said. The deaths come on the last day of “Golden Week,” one of Japan’s main holiday periods.
A 17-year-old high school student was found dead from apparent gas inhalation in the bedroom of his family’s house in western Osaka prefecture, a police spokesman said.
Police found a suicide note and empty detergent and bath salt bottles next to his body, he said.
Separately, a 40-year-old man was found dead with empty bottles of chemicals in a car in central Nagano prefecture, police said.
A third apparent suicide was reported in Hiroshima, where a 26-year-old man was found dead in his apartment next to empty bottles of detergent, media reports said.
About 60 neighbors evacuated after the man put a warning on his door reading, “Gas is being made,” the reports said.
Japan has one of the world’s highest suicide rates.
The country has seen dozens of recent suicide attempts using hydrogen sulphide gas, produced by combining common detergent and bath salts through instructions found easily on the Internet.
In line with recommendations on the Web sites, people attempting suicide often warn nearby residents about the dangerous gas.
Authorities have urged Internet providers to voluntarily crack down on the Web sites and have voiced concern that the wide media coverage is leading to more suicides.
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