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The Japanese police moved Wednesday to stop a string of suicides using detergent, asking Internet providers to remove information on how to generate the deadly gas.
In the first action by police following dozens of suicides using hydrogen sulphide, the National Police Agency filed an official request with the Internet industry, telecommunications companies and cable broadcasters.
"Generating hydrogen sulphide is not illegal under current laws, but the risk is high for third parties to inhale the gas and, in worst case scenarios, die," a police statement said.
However, Internal Affairs Minister Hiroya Masuda, who oversees communication, told reporters that the government would not intervene against the websites, saying such intervention would constitute "excessive restrictions on freedom of expression."
Japan has seen dozens of recent suicide attempts by hydrogen sulphide gas, produced by combining common detergent and bath salts through instructions found easily on the Internet. Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates.
At least 48 cases of suicides using the gas were reported throughout the nation from March 27 to April 29, according to disaster services.
Many victims post a note outside to warn neighbors or rescuers about the deadly gas, apparently in keeping with recommendations on the Internet.
Police said they received a call Tuesday from a pharmacist in a Tokyo suburb to warn them about a woman who had bought bath salts and was acting suspiciously.
They later found the 31-year-old dead in the bathroom of her house, where a note on the bathroom door carried the word "Danger" written in red.
Some 30 neighbors were evacuated but no one was harmed by the gas, police said.
-- AFP
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