S.E Asia leads the world in suicide due to the deeply ingrained cultural custom of being unable to accept (for want of a better expression) "loss of face". This could stem from things such as being caught shop lifting, cheating on a test, murdering a foreign English teacher etc. Further, this leads to, among other things the outragously high number of hit and run incidents by drivers here in Japan. It seems that an alarmingly large number of people would choose to leave a person dying by the side of the road than the loss of face that comes with drink driving, speeding or a simple accident.