The Deepening Mystery of the Suicide of a 59-Year-Old Employee by Taking Drugs at the Gunma Prefectural Office

“In late August, a police car came to the area around Takao Suzuki’s (pseudonym) parents’ house along the national highway. Neighbors and I were talking about what had happened, but I don’t think anyone realized that he had committed suicide. ……” (Neighbor)

It was in early September that this magazine learned of an incident at the Gunma prefectural office. In early September, this magazine learned of an incident at the Gunma prefectural office, where a 59-year-old male employee, Mr. Suzuki, had taken his own life.

“He passed away at the end of August. Mr. Suzuki was a counselor in the department in charge of birds and animals. He died in the barn of his parents’ house in the prefecture after drinking some pesticide.

Mr. Suzuki was born in Gunma Prefecture and studied animal husbandry at a university in Iwate Prefecture before joining the Gunma Prefectural Government. At one time, he had been seconded to a civil engineering office in the prefecture. Some people believe that the reason why Mr. Suzuki, who was close to retirement, took his own life was “power harassment. An official of the prefectural government continues.

“It is said that Mr. Suzuki left something like a suicide note on his computer, in which the names of Governor Ishta Yamamoto and Deputy Governor Keiichi Uruga were written. Mr. Uruga is a unique career bureaucrat from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, with a degree in engineering from the University of Tokyo. It seems that the upper management had slashed the budget for a shooting range for hunting-related people in the prefecture as part of cost-cutting measures, and Mr. Suzuki had a hard time dealing with it. I heard that when Governor Yamamoto tried to visit him to offer condolences, he was turned down by the bereaved family.

When I visited Mr. Suzuki’s home, his wife answered the door.

When I visited Mr. Suzuki’s home, his wife answered, “I was busy with work, and I think my husband was troubled because he had a strong sense of responsibility. But I’m sorry, I haven’t heard anything else about it.

When I asked the Human Resources Division of the General Affairs Department at the Gunma Prefectural Government, they replied as follows.

“It is true that the employee in question passed away in late August. It is true that the employee in question passed away in late August, but we would like to refrain from answering the question about the cause of his death, based on the wishes of his family. The existence of a suicide note has not been confirmed. As for the funeral, we have refrained from attending it, as the family expressed their wish to hold it in private.

The prefectural government is said to be investigating Mr. Suzuki’s working conditions at the time of his death, but they declined to answer about the establishment of an investigation committee.

Why did Mr. Suzuki take his own life? A third-party investigation and clarification is needed.

“From the October 1, 2021 issue of FRIDAY