AOKIGAHARA: FOREST OF THE DEAD

Aokigahara is a woodland at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan that is also called the Sea of Trees.  This forest is the most popular place to commit suicide in Japan.

More than 500 people have taken their own lives in Aokigahara since the 1950s with 78 of those suicides taking place in 2002 alone.

It is said that the trend started after Seicho Matsumoto published his novel Kuroi Kaiju (Black Sea of Trees) where two of his characters commit suicide there but the place already had a reputation as early as the 19th century.

Every week police patrol Aokigahara looking for new bodies. 

Japan has one of the largest suicide rates in the world.

Disturbing Pictures below!

CNN

Warning!  Disturbing Pictures!