Officials in Yamanashi thought printing reassuring messages and suicide-prevention hotline numbers on sheets of toilet paper might be an effective and discreet way to help distressed young people
Authorities in central Japan are trying an unusual new approach to tackle the country's longstanding suicide problem: printing messages of support on toilet paper.
"Dear you, who might want to end it all," reads the toilet paper being used in an unusual new initiative to reach out to suicidal young people in the country.
Suicide is a longstanding problem in Japan, and like many places, the country saw a spike in deaths by suicide during parts of the pandemic.