Suicide prevention in the Pacific War (WW II)

During the war against Japan, there were two facets of an American program to prevent suicide among the Japanese. One was a research component in the Foreign Morale Analysis Division (FMAD), a subunit of the Office of War Information. The principal FMAD figure who did most of the research on Japanese suicide and ways to prevent suicide among the Japanese military was the anthropologist Ruth Benedict, assisted by her Japanese-American aide Robert Hashima. The second facet was the suicide prevention program itself, which was put into effect toward the end of the war in the battles of Saipan and Okinawa. This program of action was undertaken by American GIs. These unheralded activities in suicide prevention merit a place in the annals of suicide prevention programs.