A spokesman for Narusawa and Ashiwada, two of the three villages that border the forest, said: "I think everyone has the same reason for choosing this area. It's because of the novel by Seicho Matsumoto, Kuroi Jukai (Sea of Trees). After that was published 23 years ago the number of suicides around here increased." The novel tells the story of a woman who has a love affair with a young public prosecutor. He is blackmailed by the woman's husband, and the only escape for the lovers is a double suicide inside the dark and mysterious Aokigahara forest.