• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Yale professor proposes mass suicide and disembowelment to deal with Japan's ageing population problem

Home> News

Updated 07:52 14 Feb 2023 GMTPublished 07:32 14 Feb 2023 GMT

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

The assistant professor of economics at Yale has defended his actions

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

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.

Advert

"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.

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

Advert

“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.”

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.
economics.yale.edu

Advert

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."

Advert

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

UNILAD has reached out to Narita for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Abema News / YouTube / Malcolm Fairman / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: World News

Anish Vij
Anish Vij

Anish has an MA in Multimedia Journalism and is passionate about delivering sarcastic/mildly amusing content. After studying business at undergrad, Anish realised that he’d much prefer getting paid to rant about a topic, rather than to find a solution to it. Apart from that, he loves the ‘Four F’s’, as he calls it - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

X

@Anish_Vij

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Creator of suicide pod vows to build new one despite original being seized by police and first user 'found with strangulation marks'
  • Professor facing charges of sexual abuse is returning to teach ‘legal and ethical’ class
  • Son who films his mom’s OnlyFans content reveals the one scene he found ‘disgusting’ to watch
  • Creator of controversial suicide pod ‘Dr Death’ made several similar contraptions before

Choose your content:

20 mins ago
an hour ago
  • 20 mins ago

    Barack and Michelle Obama reveal ‘hard times’ as they directly address divorce rumors

    Barack and Michelle Obama have been married for over three decades

    Celebrity
  • an hour ago

    Will Smith considers changing his name after making surprising family discovery

    The Bad Boys actor described the newfound information about his background as 'crazy'

    Celebrity
  • an hour ago

    79-year-old woman who's visited every country in the world reveals her 3 favorite places

    At 79 years old, Luisa Yu has now visited every single country on the planet

    News
  • an hour ago

    Fans point out 'important' detail in Dax Shepard's NSFW photo of Kristen Bell in compromising position

    Dax Shepard shared a very cheeky snap of his wife Kristen Bell to Instagram

    Celebrity