Data
Everywhere there is death, there is a stigmatised property. In Japan, there is at least 1 on every street.
Introduction
I was intrigued by this topic because of my interest towards Asian superstitions. In Japanese culture, death is a taboo and considered unlucky to be associated with. Therefore, stigmatised properties are being sold for at least 20% cheaper than market price. Because it is required by law for stigmatised properties to be declared, we have a record of locations and happenings of these properties on a map called “Oshimaland”.
Data Visualisation
My goal for this data visualization is to be able to compare the amounts of the different types of stigmatised properties in each Japanese province as well as to compare the total number of stigmatised properties in each province. To do this, I worked with a bar graph. This will help to articulate the amount of each type of stigmatised property clearly by bar height. To compare the number of stigmatised properties, I added the total figure for each province at the bottom. I also added a legend to label what each color of the bar represents.
Findings
The data visualization revealed that the most common types of stigmatized properties are suicide and lonely death related properties. Big city centers tend to have the highest amount of suicide related properties. Provinces in the countryside have a high amount of lonely death related properties. Other deaths such as murders and accidents are the least common.
Insights
What started as an interesting exploration into superstition ended up being a discovery of the aftereffects of Japan’s crippling battle with mental health and social issues. As we analyze the data, we question the numbers and make connections as to what causes the numbers to be so high. I noticed a pattern amongst the data. The reason behind the high suicide related properties in city centers could perhaps have something to do with social issues resulting in high stress levels and high cost of living.
A possible reasoning for why provinces in the countryside have a high amount of lonely death related properties may be due to the low birth rates in Japan as well as high elderly population outside of the city. With no children to look after them in their final days, they perish alone in their homes. Other deaths such as murders and a ccidents are not as common in Japan due to low crime rates.