SDF troops helping US wars have suicide rate 3 times national average
The suicide rate among Self-Defense Force members assisting U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is over 3 times higher than the national average, the government said Tuesday.
Of 19,700 troops to have served in the SDF's refueling missions in the Indian Ocean since they began in 2001, or those dispatched to Iraq, 16 have taken their own lives.
But Defense Ministry officials said the high suicide rate was not necessarily because of the duties troops had been made to perform.
"It is not possible to generalize by saying there is a direct relationship between the dispatch of the SDF and the deaths," the Defense Ministry said in a statement about the issue.
House of Representatives Social Democratic Party member Kantoku Teruya sparked the debate on SDF suicides by asking the government a question during a Diet debate Tuesday about extending the refueling missions.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would extend Japan's refueling missions, which have been put on hold since Nov. 1. The opposition, which controls the House of Councilors, is opposed to Japan taking part, saying that it violates Article 9 of the Constitution, which forbids Japan from waging war.
There were 32,155 suicides in Japan last year, a rate of about 24 per 100,000. The 16 self-inflicted deaths in SDF ranks would equate to 81 suicides per 100,000. The overall SDF suicide rate was 0.03 percent in 2006, while the rate of self-inflicted death among SDF troops who had taken part in missions aiding the U.S. wars was 0.08 percent.
--- Vocabulary ---
SDF : Self Defence Forces （自衛隊） ★
troop : 軍隊、一団
3 times : 3倍 ★
refueling : 燃料補給
refuel : 燃料を補給する
dispatch : 派遣する
take one's own life : 自殺する
duty : 義務、職務
perform : 行う、実行する
generalize : 一般化する
House of Representatives : 衆議院（日本）、下院（米国）
Social Democratic Party : 社会民主党（SDP）
spark : 口火を切る、刺激する
diet : 国会
extend : 伸ばす、広げる ★
pass a bill : 法案を可決する、議案を通す
put on hold : お蔵入りにされる、（電話で）待たされる
opposition : 反対、相手、敵
oppose : 反対する、反抗する
House of Councilors : 参議院
take part : 参加する ★
article 9 : 憲法第九条
article : 記事、条項
Constitution : 憲法 ★
forbid : 禁じる
wage : （戦争などを）行う、賃金（名）
inflict : 与える、負わせる
self-inflicted : 自ら課した
eauate : 同等とみなす
aid : 手伝う
The suicide rate among Self-Defense Force members assisting U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is over 3 times higher than the national average, the government said Tuesday.
Of 19,700 troops to have served in the SDF's refueling missions in the Indian Ocean since they began in 2001, or those dispatched to Iraq, 16 have taken their own lives.
But Defense Ministry officials said the high suicide rate was not necessarily because of the duties troops had been made to perform.
"It is not possible to generalize by saying there is a direct relationship between the dispatch of the SDF and the deaths," the Defense Ministry said in a statement about the issue.
House of Representatives Social Democratic Party member Kantoku Teruya sparked the debate on SDF suicides by asking the government a question during a Diet debate Tuesday about extending the refueling missions.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would extend Japan's refueling missions, which have been put on hold since Nov. 1. The opposition, which controls the House of Councilors, is opposed to Japan taking part, saying that it violates Article 9 of the Constitution, which forbids Japan from waging war.
There were 32,155 suicides in Japan last year, a rate of about 24 per 100,000. The 16 self-inflicted deaths in SDF ranks would equate to 81 suicides per 100,000. The overall SDF suicide rate was 0.03 percent in 2006, while the rate of self-inflicted death among SDF troops who had taken part in missions aiding the U.S. wars was 0.08 percent.
--- Vocabulary ---
SDF : Self Defence Forces （自衛隊） ★
troop : 軍隊、一団
3 times : 3倍 ★
refueling : 燃料補給
refuel : 燃料を補給する
dispatch : 派遣する
take one's own life : 自殺する
duty : 義務、職務
perform : 行う、実行する
generalize : 一般化する
House of Representatives : 衆議院（日本）、下院（米国）
Social Democratic Party : 社会民主党（SDP）
spark : 口火を切る、刺激する
diet : 国会
extend : 伸ばす、広げる ★
pass a bill : 法案を可決する、議案を通す
put on hold : お蔵入りにされる、（電話で）待たされる
opposition : 反対、相手、敵
oppose : 反対する、反抗する
House of Councilors : 参議院
take part : 参加する ★
article 9 : 憲法第九条
article : 記事、条項
Constitution : 憲法 ★
forbid : 禁じる
wage : （戦争などを）行う、賃金（名）
inflict : 与える、負わせる
self-inflicted : 自ら課した
eauate : 同等とみなす
aid : 手伝う
