Five people were found dead in a parked car in Japan yesterday, the latest suspected case in the Japanese phenomenon of group suicides among people who meet online.

Three men and two women, all believed to be in their 30s, were found in a car parked by a river bank in Shiga prefecture, some 365 km west of Tokyo, a police spokesman said.

It was not immediately clear if the group had left any kind of suicide note, but three charcoal stoves were found in the car. Burning charcoal generates carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas.

An increasing number of suicide websites have appeared in recent years in Japan, where the suicide rate is one of the highest among industrialised nations. Experts say the sites attract those who are afraid to die alone, and police say the number of people who died in group suicide pacts after meeting online totalled 56 in 2006, down from a record 91 in 2005.

No religious prohibition exists against taking one's life in Japan, where suicide was once a way to escape failure or save loved ones from embarrassment or financial loss.

The number of Japanese who committed suicide in the first half of 2006 fell by nearly eight per cent from the same period the year before, a drop that one official said reflected the improving economy.

A total of 14,828 people committed suicide from January to June last year, down from 16,082 in the same period of 2005, according to Health Ministry data.