[ENG SUB]Slide or Survive: The Untold Story of Japan's Suicide Decline

"Save the Slide Society!" introduces the secret behind Japan's recent decrease in its suicide rate, despite being a country with one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

For nearly two decades, Japan's economy has been in a prolonged slump. The number of people who lose their jobs or fail in their businesses and fall into the depths of poverty without social safety nets has drastically increased. Anti-poverty activist Makoto Yuasa calls this Japan's "Slide Society." This documentary introduces the suicide prevention efforts of the government, local municipalities, and private organizations that are working to save those who are driven to suicide by poverty.

You'll see the initiatives of a group of Japanese lawyers who installed debt relief signs in areas with high suicide rates. Unlike the first suicide prevention plan (2007-2011), which distributed its budget across various fields, the second plan (2012-) allocates more than half of its budget to social measures like debt relief, loan consultations, and legal advice for multiple debtors. We also do an in-depth report on the case of Kurihara City in Miyagi Prefecture, which created a fund to provide low-interest loans to people with multiple debts. This documentary showcases the hidden efforts of Japanese society to save the economically vulnerable who are vertically falling in the "Slide Society."

In an era where "econocide" is increasing worldwide due to financial crises, suicide can no longer be considered a phenomenon limited to those with psychological issues. The filmmakers want to show that economic problems are a major cause of suicide and that building a minimum social safety net is essential for suicide prevention. The suicide rate is not just a statistic of the dead; it is an indicator of how stable the lives of a society's members are. This is not a story about the dead, but about the lives and stability of the living.