Retired cabby Juzo Omata, 65, was depressed and lonely when he tried to hang himself. His suicide attempt failed only because the tree he selected couldn't take his weight.
Now he says he has new friends. He started visiting the Iki Iki Salon cafe run by a Chiba municipality where elderly people congregate and chat over ¥100 coffee.
Omata, who recently moved to a public housing complex in Tokiwa Daira, Chiba Prefecture, from Tokyo, now feels he can go on living.