Neuroethics in Suicide Prevention: An East Asian Perspective

According to the World Health Organization, over 700,000 people die by suicide each year, accounting for 1.3% of global deaths. As neuroscience and neurotechnology increasingly shape suicide research and prevention, East Asian societies such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan-historically more permissive toward suicide-have enacted laws emphasizing multi-level psychosocial interventions. Despite advances in neuroscientific inquiry, neuroethical reflection on suicide prevention remains limited. This paper proposes a culturally grounded neuroethical framework that integrates neurorights, disability rights, and cultural perspectives. Rejecting reductionist views of suicide as mere brain dysfunction, it examines how direct and indirect brain interventions, cognitive liberty, and cultural mediation interact in shaping moral and policy responses. It argues that the suicidal brain and culture are co-produced phenomena, dynamically evolving within complex neuroethical structures that shape contemporary suicide prevention.