The Suicide Forest

In 2003, 105 bodies were found in the forest, exceeding the previous record of 78 in 2002.[6] In 2010, it was estimated that more than 200 people had attempted suicide in the forest, of whom 54 completed the act.[2] Suicides are said to increase during March, the end of the fiscal year in Japan.[7] As of 2011, the most common means of suicide in the forest were hanging or drug overdose.[8] In recent years, local officials have stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to decrease Aokigahara's association with suicide.[9]