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Vol.80 Euthanasia |
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Jan.29,2025 |
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According to the information I found online, euthanasia is currently legalized in countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of the United States (California State and Oregon State), and the U.K. and Germany are also considering legalization.
Although this issue has recently been discussed even in Japan, I think Japan would be one of the last civilized nations that will legalize euthanasia.
As shown above, most of the countries that have legalized euthanasia are in Europe. Through repeated battles against neighboring countries and survival in harsh nature during a long history, these European countries must have learned different views of life and death and wisdom from those of Japan.
Meanwhile, Japan is an island nation, so most of the people live comfortably without a sense of tension in a rich environment with four seasons. Of course, Japan went through the Warring States period and fought against foreign countries, but these are only parts of its long history.
Today, Japan sees one or two train accidents involving people per day only in the Tokyo metropolitan area. To be more specific, these accidents are rail suicides. They cause a lot of trouble not only to railway officials but also to train users. Considering such suicidal tendencies, including murder-suicides, I think Japanese views of life and death are unserious.
I did not check it, but I guess that the number of rail suicides is low in Europe. Their views on life and views of life and death, such as respecting human dignity and not bothering others, may have led to the legalization of euthanasia.
I and my wife told our children that we would not want a life-sustaining treatment if euthanasia is not legalized anytime soon in Japan. To reduce their mental burden, I am also thinking of putting our intentions in writing.
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