Suicide watch. In Japan (of the people who die) over 25% of people who have their credit reduced are committing suicide.
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One in four deceased borrowers from five major consumer credit companies committed suicide, the government regulator of the industry said.
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) investigated the causes of the deaths of borrowers from major consumer credit companies following revelations that Promise Co. falsely reported data on life insurance policies it took out on all of its borrowers.
The results have shown that 25.5 percent of debtors with the five firms, whose causes of deaths are known, took their own lives.
The figure for Promise came to 26.9 percent, more than twice the figure it had earlier reported to the FSA.
In September, Promise falsely reported to the agency that 11.2 percent of borrowers who died killed themselves. However, it later proved that the causes of death of 4,287 borrowers that the company claimed died from illness were not actually known.
As a result, the number of those confirmed to have died of illnesses sharply decreased, causing the ratio of those who committed suicide to more than double, agency officials said.
The issue was raised in a session of the House of Representatives Committee on Fiscal and Financial Policies on Tuesday. Akira Nagatsuma, an opposition Democratic Party of Japan member, urged the FSA to check the exact number of consumer credit firm borrowers who committed suicide.
"Data has suggested that the number of those who killed themselves is much larger. Can't you check the exact number of those who committed suicide based on information held by the Federation of Credit Bureaus of Japan?" Nagatsuma said.
Yoshimi Watanabe, senior vice minister for financial services, responded that the agency will consider the request even though it is difficult. (Mainichi)
November 29, 2006
mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp |
