Inside Aokigahara, Japan’s ‘suicide forest’

YOUTUBER Logan Paul might’ve brought the sad reality of Aokigahara into the public eye, but the dense forest was infamous long before that.

LOGAN Paul’s controversial YouTube video has brought Japan’s so-called ‘suicide forest’ into the public eye.

But where is Aokigahara and how did it get its morbid reputation? Here’s what you need to know. WHERE IS AOKIGAHARA? Aokigahara is a sprawling forest which sits at the northwestern base of Mount Fuji — where the foliage is so thick it has become known as the “Sea of Trees”. Mount Fuji, or Fujisan, is about 100km from the capital, Tokyo, and is the highest peak in Japan. The forest of Aokigahara thrives on an area of 30sq km of hardened lava, which was laid down during Fujisan’s last major eruption — way back in the year 864, The Sun reports. The vast forest has several caves filled with ice, and parts of it are popular with tourists. But it’s no place for a leisurely walk. The woods are filled with densely twisted trees, and the lava absorbs sound, giving visitors an eerie sense of solitude. Hundreds of people have chosen it as the place to spend their final moments, and walk in with no intention of ever leaving. HOW DID AOKIGAHARA BECOME KNOWN AS THE ‘SUICIDE FOREST’? Historically, Aokigahara was said to be haunted by yurei, or ghosts from Japanese mythology. It’s become known as one of the world’s most popular suicide sites in recent years — after a spate of deaths in the area. Chillingly, Japanese authorities have been forced to erect signs at the start of some trails — urging visitors to think of their families, and contact a suicide prevention charity. Some 105 bodies were found in the forest in 2003, while police recorded more than 200 attempted suicides there in 2010. Just 54 of them succeeded in taking their own lives. There tends to be a spike in people taking their own lives in March, at the end of Japan’s financial year. Some bring tents into the forest and camp for days, debating their fate. Japan has one of the highest suicide rates of any country in the world, and the 2008 global recession made matters even worse. The government has stopped publicising the number of suicides in Aokigahara in recent years — in a bid to change its reputation. Matthew McConaughey starred in a film about Aokigahara, called The Sea Of Trees, in 2016. It was about an American man who went to the forest to commit suicide — before meeting a Japanese local who’s there for the same reason. US supernatural horror film The Forest (2016) was also set in these woods. WHAT WAS LOGAN PAUL’S VIDEO ABOUT? YouTuber Logan Paul faced a huge backlash after posting a video from Aokigahara on New Year’s Eve — which showed a man who had taken his own life. He could be heard yelling, “Yo, are you alive?” at the dead man, who was hanging from a tree, during a 15-minute clip. The camera then zoomed into the man’s body, while Logan asked his tour guide: “Did we just find a dead person in the suicide forest hanging?” Logan eventually deleted the video and issued an apology on Twitter around 24 hours after the clip went up. But he’s been slammed by other celebs, with Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul telling him to “go rot in hell”, and Game Of Throne’s Sophie Turner labelling him “an idiot”. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal feelings or mental health issues contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636. If it is an emergency please call 000. This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished here with permission.