Two young Japanese girls left their shoes side by side high up on an apartment building then jumped to their deaths in a joint suicide that has shocked the country.

The elementary schoolgirls, aged 11 and 12, made the fatal leap from between the seventh and eight floors of the building in Tokyo’s Ota Ward, leaving residents around the nation asking: Why?

Police said the youngsters had left a suicide note with their neatly-laid- out shoes, but declined to reveal its contents.

'The note is a matter for the parents - it is personal,’ said a police spokesman.

Police said the 11-year-old lived with her family in the apartment building, while her 12-year-old classmate lived nearby.

After removing their shoes the girls jumped, one dying instantly when they hit the asphalt parking lot near the entrance to the building. The other child died shortly afterwards.

Originally posted by *Tim

11 & 12 year old?
What kinda ****ed up world do we love on that 11 year olds feel the need to kill themselves?!

RIP

Originally posted by Kavish

Don't want to sound insensitive, but the suicide rate at this point is very high. Suicides happen everyday and they are mostly teenagers or tweens. I don't think we should make a thread about this everyday, right?