Japan has quite its share of suicide spots, such as the "suicide forest" of Aokigahara, that usually rumored to be haunted and are generally unpleasant places to be around, but they still seem to attract ghost hunters and thrill seekers. One such gloomy spot is gaining at least a temporary revitalization in visitors, however, thanks to an influx of Pokémon Go players.

Fukui Prefecture's Tojinbo is a series of coastal cliffs that has grown notorious as a location to commit suicide. Like other similar spots, it is rumored to be haunted, although the origins of ghostly activity are varied, one legend claims that a corrupt Buddhist priest was thrown off a cliff by an angry mob. With an alarming 25 deaths reported in a year, a retired police officer named Yukio Shige started a local suicide prevention NPO after becoming frustrated with having to pull so many dead bodies out of the sea. He has even garnered the nick-name "chotto matte" (wait a minute) man, for the words he says to suicidal people, and estimates that his organization has saved 500 lives.

J-Cast News is now reporting that Pokémon Go players have stated coming out in droves in search of rare Pokemon said to be around Tojinbo. Friends and families come out together and reinvigorated the area、 and the once dreaded cliff range is now filled with people hanging out and having a good time. Shige is thrilled with this, saying of suicidal people, "they can see these Pokemon players, and it gives them time to think "suicide isn't the way", and now I don't see people here worrying at the edge of the cliff at night."

He's also even more thrilled that Tojinbo has reported zero suicides for the month of August. It's easy to attribute this wonderful stat to Pokémon Go, but in actuality this is more than likely the result of combined efforts of Shige's suicide prevention NPO and locals doing their best to help those in need. Still, many on Japanese social media are commenting on how the constant presence of people hanging out around the cliffs are having a positive influence.

Suicide is a serious issue, rooted in deeper depression and trouble, but hopefully this can be an added boost to the efforts of Shige's prevention group.