It may sound and look like a simple, let alone innocent move, but Japan saw a staggering decrease in suicide rates – 84% to be exact – after installing blue light emitting diodes (LED) at Tokyo metro stations.
While jumping in front of a speeding train is not the grandest way to say sayonara to the world, it still poses as a threat to the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Initiatives have been made to prevent train suicides over the years: raising tracks, installing Z-gates and setting up clear, sliding doors that opens and closes whenever a train arrives or departs.
Heck, they even tried to put a near cartoon-esque airbag in front of a train that “deploys as they come in contact with an object, such as a human body, cushioning the impact.” But then again, Japan is Japan. If they can come up with an ingenious way to make a life- sized Unicorn Gundam statue, they’d certainly try anything to curb their suicide numbers.
And that they did.
In 2009, the East Japan Railway Company took a bold move an installed special blue light above the platforms of all 29 stations on the Yamanote Line. This came after the company saw suicide rate go up from 42 in 2007 to 68 after two years. What they did was to hang these lights at the end of the platform – the area where there is less foot traffic, and where most people would most likely to flung themselves to greet the incoming locomotive – and bathe it with blue light that shine brighter than the average fluorescent bulb.
So, why blue light? Studies suggest that blue is mostly associated with calmness, stability, and safety. At the same time, it can reduce anxiety, slow impulsive behavior, and “create a subtle psychological pause” for those intense human emotions to melt away and pass by.
Another study is the fact that researchers discovered that suicide rate in railway stations go up after several days of bad weather. When Japan is enveloped in gloom, a bask in blue can be a literal lifesaver since it is also the color of the sky and sea.
As a result, researchers at the University of Tokyo saw an 84% drop in suicide rates after the lights were installed. It’s cheaper, yes, and practical, too. But along this line, Japan’s efforts to prevent suicide using a humble material on a place where stress, isolation and distress can peak at a moment’s notice shows that even small changes in the environment can impact our decisions.
As Instagram user Mr. Handy Hero puts it, “many suicidal crises are temporary, even if they feel unbearable in the moment. If we can reduce impulsivity and create moments of calm, we can give people the chance to survive their hardest minutes—and go on to experience better ones.”
