Yale professor proposes mass suicide and disembowelment to deal with Japan's ageing population problem

Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide

A Yale University professor sparked outrage after suggesting that mass suicide and disembowelment is the only way to deal with Japan's ageing population.

Yusuke Narita, who is an assistant professor of economics at Yale, made the comments back in 2021 and has gained hundred and thousands of followers ever since.

As of 2023, Japan currently has a low birthrate and rapidly ageing population.

"I feel like the only solution is pretty clear," Narita said at the time. "In the end, isn't it mass suicide and mass 'seppuku' of the elderly?"

Seppuku is the act of disembowelment used in the 19th century - and was a code among dishonoured samurai.

YouTube/Abema News

Last year, he was asked by a student to elaborate on his mass seppuku theories, for which he referred to the 2019 horror film, Midsommar, where a Swedish cult sends one of its oldest members to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, as reported by The New York Times.

“Whether that’s a good thing or not, that’s a more difficult question to answer,” Dr. Narita said. “So if you think that’s good, then maybe you can work hard toward creating a society like that.”

And in a recent interview with the publication, the 37-year-old claims his comments were 'an abstract metaphor' and taken out of context.

“I should have been more careful about their potential negative connotations,” he added. “After some self-reflection, I stopped using the words last year.”

economics.yale.edu

Journalist Masaki Kubota says that the professor's comments are 'irresponsible', saying people 'might think, oh, my grandparents are the ones who are living longer and we should just get rid of them'.

Columnist, Masato Fujisaki, also argued in Newsweek Japan that the professor’s comments 'should not be easily taken as a ‘metaphor'.

Fujisaki says that the professors fans are people 'who think that old people should just die already and social welfare should be cut'.

With regards to voluntary euthanasia, Narita added: "I am not advocating its introduction. I predict it to be more broadly discussed."

At the time of writing, Narita has over 570k followers on Twitter.

UNILAD has reached out to Narita for comment.