Commuters catching a train at Ogikubo, a western Tokyo suburb, probably no longer notice the large mirrors, 2m wide and 1.2m high, placed strategically on the station platform. The idea is to deter suicides on the basis that people may be less likely to leap under a train if they see their own reflection.

JR East, which operates the Chuo Line, says it has not determined whether the mirrors have had any effect since their installation about five years ago. But the mere fact that it has experimented with such methods is indicative of how Japan is struggling to come to grips with its suicide crisis.