A Japanese man and woman have killed themselves after meeting in the chat room of a suicide website.

The two, a 46-year-old dentist and a 25-year-old woman, made a death pact after meeting only a month ago.

They met for the first time just a few days before taking their lives the BBC reports, but exchanged a lot of emails asking for support form the other in committing suicide.

The couple swallowed lethal quantities of sleeping pills at the dentist's house. They both left suicide notes.

The dentist had separated from his wife and had health problems. The woman had left her job and was thought to have family problems.

The Japanese police say there are several suicide websites in Japan. These provide information on suicide methods, and bulletin-the-head boards with messages from people wanting to kill themselves. ®

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The BBC story