17-year-old girl jumps from shopping mall, killing woman

A 17-year-old girl jumped from a shopping mall and killed another woman by landing on the pedestrian below.

A high school student jumped from a building in a busy shopping district in the Japanese city of Yokohama, hitting a 32-year-old woman who was with friends on Saturday night.

Both women were taken to hospital, where the girl died an hour later and the other woman shortly after.

Although it is unclear why the girl killed herself, more people under the age of 18 commit suicide in Japan on September 1 than any other day, just before the new school term, the BBC reports.

Last year, 513 children were reported to have taken their own lives in Japan, with “school problems” being the most common factor.

A look at the residential district of Nishi-ku in Yokohama City, Japan (file image)

According to police, the girl is said to have jumped from the 12th floor of NEWoMan Yokohama, a shopping mall directly connected to JR Yokohama Station, shortly before 6 p.m. Japan today information.

Police said the teenager lived in Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture, and the woman was an employee of the company who lived in Midori Ward, Yokohama.

The place is also said to have been packed with shoppers at the time.

In July, a global report on suicide found that Japan had the fourth-highest rate, with 15.4 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Hungary, with 14.8 deaths per 100,000 people.

The researchers said: “South Korea had the highest rate of suicide deaths, at 24.1 per 100,000 people, followed by Lithuania, Slovenia, Japan and Hungary.”

South Korea and Japan have particularly stressful educational and work environments, as well as a social stigma around mental health, which may be increasing suicide rates there.

In 2020, Japan was also reported to have a female suicide crisis, after more people committed suicide in one month than died from Covid-19 in the entire year.