The depressed son of a controversial conservative lawmaker yesterday jumped 20 floors to his death from a residence for members of Japan's parliament.
Rintaro Nishimura, the 26-year-old son of lower house member Shingo Nishimura, leapt from a balcony hours before he was to return to a hospital for treatment of severe depression, his father said.
"He suddenly disappeared for about 30 seconds when my wife went to brush her teeth," Nishimura told reporters. "Rintaro fell from the 20th-floor balcony and died."
"My family believes he was released from the pain of depression and taken by God," Nishimura said.
Japan has one of the developed world's highest suicide rates. In the same dormitory for lawmakers, Japan's then farm minister, Toshikatsu Matsuoka, last year hanged himself with a belt before he was to be questioned over a scandal.
Rintaro Nishimura, an office worker, had failed several times to pass the bar exam to become a lawyer, Jiji Press news agency said. Nishimura's office was not immediately available for comment.
The elder Nishimura was himself a lawyer. He was arrested in November 2005 and later given a suspended sentence for letting an employee use his legal licence.
Nishimura is known for his outspoken conservative views. He sparked a diplomatic row with China and Taiwan in May 1997 when he became the first Japanese lawmaker to land on a disputed island chain in the East China Sea.
He was dismissed as parliamentary vice minister of defense in October 1999 after calling for Japan to consider nuclear weapons, a taboo in the only nation to have suffered atomic attack.
"Nuclear power is a deterrent. We would all be rape maniacs if we were not punished for rapes. But it's not the case thanks to punishment working as deterring power," he told a magazine at the time.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim