VOA慢速英语2020 日本年轻人开始在线咨询服务

Japanese Youngster¹ Starts Online Counseling² Service

Suicides⁴ are on the rise among Japanese young people aged⁵ 13 to 19. That concerns 21-year-old Koki Ozora, who suffered from depression as a child.

Ozora started a nonprofit volunteer organization called Anata no Ibasho. In English, that means "a place for you." The group offers a 24-hour text-messaging service for those seeking a sympathetic listener. Anata no Ibasho promises to answer every request, as soon as possible and sometimes within seconds.

The online Japanese-language message service has grown to 500 volunteers since March. Many of them live in other countries and different time zones. The volunteers provide assistance during the hours when suicides are most common: from 10 at night to sunrise.

Ozora's idea has worked well during the COVID-19 crisis⁶. Every part of the operation is carried out online, including training for volunteers. Anata no Ibasho grew its volunteer numbers quickly. Such online services are rare in Japan.

"This really gives me hope," Ozora said of the large number of volunteers. "They tell me they just had to do something."

Anata no Ibasho has received more than 15,000 online messages asking for help, or about 130 a day.

Some messages express very deep pain: One texter discusses their fears of killing⁷ their own children. Another talks about self-hate after being sexually⁸ abused by a parent.

Thirty-two percent of the texts sent to Anata no Ibasho concern suicide³. Twelve percent of texts are about the difficulties and worries of parenting.

The volunteers' goal is to offer immediate⁹ help within 40 minutes. The advice can include that a texter seek help from police or aid from a shelter.

Japan has about 50 suicides a day. A woman is killed once every three days by her partner or former partner, and 160,000 cases of child abuse get reported each year. That information comes from government and United Nations data. Several suicides among Japanese celebrities¹⁰ this year have brought new attention to mental health issues in Japan.

Sumie Uehara is a volunteer at Anata no Ibasho. She says helping¹¹ someone through online messaging can be difficult because all you have are words.

"You don't ever negate¹² their feelings or try to solve everything in a hurry. You're just there to listen, and understand," she said.

Ozora says he thinks Japan still does not recognize the difference between a healthy solitude¹³ and an unhealthy aloneness.

Ozora says the first adult he learned to trust was his high school teacher, Takashi Fujii.

"Without him, I wouldn't even be around today. It was a miracle I came across him," said Ozora.

Fujii remembers. He said he noticed in school that Ozora never laughed. The teacher said he tried to show care for his student and get him excited about life.

Ozora has begun collecting information from Anata no Ibasho for a research project. He hopes to continue his university studies in Great Britain. Britain has become a world leader in dealing¹⁴ with public health issues, with a Minister for Loneliness named in 2018.

But Ozora says his biggest dream is to have a happy family.

He said, "I never had that. There is a father, and there is a mother. The children are happy and can do whatever they want. It's an everyday family. But, if anything, that is what I want the most."

Words in This Story

negate – v. to cause something to not be effective

solitude – n. a state or situation in which you are alone usually because you want to be

zone – n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way

1 youngster   

n.儿童，少年，年轻人

参考例句：

• I rode the youngster on my back.我让小孩骑在背上。
• That youngster works with a will.这小伙子干活有股傻劲儿。

2 counseling   

n.咨询服务

参考例句：

• A multimillionaire media magnate has shocked his employees with his candor by telling them all that he's putting his business affairs on hold to enter an alcoholism-counseling program. 一位身份数百万的媒体大亨，坦诚地告诉他全体员工他将暂时搁置他的事业以便参加戒酒班，令员工大为惊愕。
• She will need medical help and counseling to overcome the tragedy. 她将需要医疗帮助和心理咨询来平复这场悲剧。

3 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

4 suicides   

n.自杀( suicide的名词复数 )；自取灭亡；自杀者；自杀性行为

参考例句：

• Since when do suicides miss twice, lay down a rug and start over? 自杀什么时候会失手二次后铺好地毯然后再试一次？ 来自电影对白
• Chris: And the reality is suicides go to hell? 克里斯：而现实就是自杀者要下地狱？ 来自互联网

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 sexually   

adv.性别上地；按性别地；性欲地；两性之间地

参考例句：

• to be sexually promiscuous 性生活淫乱
• I was depressed,withdrawn and sexually frigid. 我郁郁寡欢，离群索居，没有什么性要求。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 negate   

vt.否定，否认；取消，使无效

参考例句：

• Our actions often negate our principles.我们的行为时常与我们所信奉的原则背道而弛。
• Mass advertising could negate the classical theory of supply and demand.大宗广告可以否定古典经济学的供求理论。

13 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。