Now, great culture, wonderful people, but they don't see suicide the way Americans see it.
Americans see self-sacrifice for the good of country, unit, buddy, or family to be heroic just like every other warrior society always has. "Death before dishonor" is an admired sentiment among American fighting men and women to this day. We have expressions about 'falling on one's sword' that reflect the long history of such sentiment in Western culture. Declaring oneself ready to take a bullet for someone is the ultimate expression of loyalty IN AMERICA - TODAY. Soldiers who throw themselves on a live grenade or other explosive (as has sadly happened many times in recent wars) sacrificing themselves and saving their fellows are rightly considered heroes, not sinners. Wonder why so many Congressional Medals of Honor are awarded posthumously? Remember the battle at Thermopylae? Bunker Hill? The Battle of the Bulge? The list could go on and on.
You are wrong, and you are an ignorant, racist fuckhole.
Yeah, the list can go on, but if these were your best examples, you are kind of losing the argument.
Big difference between a spur of the moment act of bravery and deliberately taking a suicidal action in a war you already know is lost.
More to the point, the fact is, Japan does have the HIGHEST SUICIDE RATE amongst industrialized countries. No one else here is really disputing this. The grownups are discussing the role of guns in this matter.