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Sci-Fi Novelist Hiroshi Yamamoto Reported Safe After Alarming Tweets Prompt Police Contact

Science fiction author Hiroshi Yamamoto confirmed that he is safe on August 20 after posting tweets earlier that day that hinted at suicide. He acknowledged that he had considered suicide, but talking to his wife and daughter changed his mind. He also thanked his friends and people who sent him encouraging messages.

Earlier that day, Yamamoto tweeted that he had been considering something for at least a year now, though he did not specify what he had been considering. He added that he had kept it a secret from his family, friends, and doctor, but had come to the decision because he considered his body to be "at its limit." He made specific reference to his deteriorating mental state, saying that it was "obvious" after looking at past tweets, and that he would soon be "unable to even think." He added that his self-published Chalice in Hazard story is his "last message."

Fellow authors and fans sent Yamamoto encouraging messages after he made the posts, and immediately urged anyone who could contact Yamamoto to do so, or to use the Japanese 110 emergency hotline to immediately contact emergency services.

A later tweet, prefaced as written by someone other than Yamamoto on his account, revealed that Yamamoto had been contacted by emergency services and was found to be safe and sound. The Twitter post explained that Yamamoto had been melancholic due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic lessening the opportunities to go outside.

Yamamoto revealed in an afterword in the new edition of his Project Piano novel in March earlier this year that he has been suffering from cerebral infarction since 2018. In the afterword, Yamamoto enjoined readers to treat the novel as his "last will and testament" as a "hard sci-fi writer." He also wrote about his love for sci-fi stories in the afterword, but also lamented that his deteriorating mental state meant that he was no longer confident in his ability to write such stories, including such novels as Project Piano.

Yamamoto was part of Group SNE, the cadre of creators that developed the Record of Lodoss War franchise; Yamamoto personally played the iconic character Deedlit in the fantasy role-playing game sessions that formed the core original story of the franchise. Viz Media published Yamamoto's science-fiction novels The Stories of Ibis and MM9 in 2010 and 2012.

Source: Hiroshi Yamamoto's Twitter account (link 2, link 3) via Hachima Kikō

If you or anyone you know is suicidal or having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to a suicide prevention organization in your country. In Japan, the TELL LifeLine service is available at 03-5774-0992, and an English counseling service is available at 03-4550-1146. In the United States, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available at 1-800-273-8255. In Canada, Crisis Services Canada is available at 1-833-456-4566.