FUJIKAWAGUCHIKO, Yamanashi -- The prefectural government here has launched suicide prevention patrols with speaker- and infrared camera-equipped drones above Aokigahara Forest, a "sea of trees" at the base of Mount Fuji infamous as a place where people take their own lives.

The drones' night patrols are intended to locate people who are thinking about suicide and leading them to safety. This is to supplement day patrols by locals.

In 2022 and 2023, Yamanashi Prefecture had the highest number of suicides per 100,000 people among Japan's 47 prefectures, based on where the bodies were discovered. Around 30% of these, however, were people from outside the prefecture or of unknown address.

The prefectural government contracted Tokyo-based drone operations company JDrone for the patrols, which started in mid-September and will continue on a test basis until March 2025. To prevent people at risk of suicide from avoiding the patrols, information such as their routes and schedules is not being released.

During a demonstration flight for media on Sept. 18, the infrared camera-equipped, autonomous drone flew at between 80 and 100 meters above the forest. When a person is detected off a trail, another, hand-operated drone is sent to the location. Using the drone's speakers, staff relay messages such as, "If you need help, wave your hand," and, "Are you all right?" as patrollers approach the area on foot.

The prefecture has been funding patrols of Aokigahara in Fujikawaguchiko and the neighboring village of Narusawa since 2010. Every day, patrollers check outlying areas by car and forest trails on foot.

According to the Yamanashi Prefectural Government's health promotion division, 182 people ended their lives in the forest in each of 2019 and 2020, followed by 192 in 2021, 199 in 2022 and 215 in 2023. Keiko Chiken, head of the health promotion division, expressed her hopes for positive results, saying, "We want to dispel the image of Aokigahara Forest as a famous suicide spot."

(Japanese original by Kaoru Sato, Kofu Bureau)