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No, actual suicides.
They meet online at suicide discussion boards then get together and (usually) asphyxiate themselves in sealed cars or rooms.
I want to clarify that this is happening in Japan. And such conclaves formed the basis of a Law & Order episode a couple years ago where a group of early 20-somethings met online, got together and parked on the train tracks (the twist element being that one of the people in the car was tricked into it and thought they were all going to the same party).
You have to be wary when the press uses the word "trend" but it is something that is happening with some regularity in Japan in recent years. Suicide is not a crime in Japan, nor is it seen as a sign of mental defect.
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