People, Where's the Wa?

Is it me, or is there a lot of grim news from Japan lately? The kind of news that might make one think that society is unravelling fast.

We have suicides, men slashing women, husbands stabbing wives, women slashing everybody, savage beatings of lovers and people in need of help, stories of parents starving children, abandoning naked children, or even throwing their children out of buildings...

What is going on? Is Japan catching up to the west in terms of crime? Is the moral capital invested by centuries of traditional values running out? Is this just a little spike in an otherwise placid society?

Let me know if you've got a clue.