A female experiencing stress. - Illustrative photo: Shutterstock
TOKYO: Suicides among Japanese schoolchildren remained alarmingly high in financial year 2023 with 513 deaths, underscoring a troubling surge in mental health challenges faced by the nation’s youth since the pandemic that experts say has shown no signs of easing.
The figure is one less than the earlier record high reported in the previous year and marks the second consecutive year that the total has surpassed 500, according to the Ministry of Health’s annual white paper on suicide presented to the cabinet on Tuesday (Nov 5).
The annual total is a sharp increase from the fewer than 300 suicides among schoolchildren reported in 2010, with experts blaming the latest statistics on several key factors, notably economic problems in their families, disillusion among children about their future, poor grades and bullying at school.
Analysts also point out that schoolchildren suicides rose in 2020, nearing 500 deaths in the first full year of the pandemic, a statistic which has not declined since.
“There are many potential reasons that vary from person to person, but one of the biggest problems among young people today is that they find it difficult to be optimistic about their future,” said Izumi Tsuji, a professor of sociology of culture at Tokyo’s Chuo University and a member of the Japan Youth Study Group.
“Another leading reason is that they only participate in events with people through their schools, not their families or communities, so if a child is having trouble at school they have nowhere else to go,” he told This Week in Asia. “Children who are unhappy at school feel there is no place for them.”
Such circumstances have led to tragic outcomes in some instances, according to experts.
On August 31, an 18-year-old high school girl jumped from the 12th floor of a department store above Yokohama railway station, landing on a woman who was walking with two friends. Both the girl and the pedestrian died.
Police did not release the name of the girl – as is standard in Japan – and made no mention of whether she left a message about her intention.
Makoto Watanabe, a professor of communications and media at Hokkaido Bunkyo University in Eniwa, Hokkaido, said Japanese society has been undergoing stresses that it has not experienced before and that bullying was worsening among younger people.
“There are lots of reports of more bullying in schools and we even had a murder in Ebetsu, near here, in October,” he said.
Watanabe was referring to a case involving two 20-year-old women and two boys aged 17 and 18, all of whom had been arrested in connection with the killing of 20-year-old Tomoya Hase. The victim was found naked in a local park on October 29 and an autopsy determined that he had died of traumatic shock.
“I feel there has been an increase in young people not being able to communicate with each other or anyone else that they come in contact with,” Watanabe said. “These are the sorts of skills that they should have learned in school or the home, but they clearly did not. We, as a society, have let them down.
“I also believe that digital tools are part of the problem today as young people effectively no longer know how to communicate face-to-face as they are so used to doing it online or through social media,” he added.
“Our society has missed this chance to communicate basic ethics to our children, which include the most fundamental rules of not killing someone else and not killing yourself when faced with a challenge.”
Across all age groups, 21,837 people took their own lives in 2023, according to the white paper, a decline of 44 deaths from the previous year. The number of male suicides rose 116 to 14,862, while female victims were down 160 to 6,975 cases.
Health concerns were the greatest single reason for suicide, followed by economic and livelihood struggles, disputes in the home and work-related problems.
Among children, the white paper indicated that problems at home were the greatest trigger for suicide.
Boys in junior and senior high school tended to become despondent about poor academic performance and their future careers, while girls were impacted to a greater degree by relationships and friends.
The paper also documented an increase in mental health issues, such as depression, among senior high school pupils.
The government has expressed deep concern about the statistics, with Tsuji pointing out a ministry-led initiative designed to reduce the emphasis on sports and other club activities that are focused on schools and to expand opportunities for interactions in the wider local community.
This would give children who are not happy in school greater chances to “escape” and find new interests and friends, according to Tsuji.
Watanabe said greater support was needed for parents – in particular single parents – who might be struggling with the cost of living and low wages.
“For a child to see a parent struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table, that would be very destabilising and mentally difficult,” said Watanabe.
“These are the children and families that are most vulnerable and need the most assistance.” - South China Morning Post
***Those contemplating suicide can reach out to the Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935/ 014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999/ 019-261 5999 on WhatsApp); Jakim’s family, social and community care centre (011-1959 8214 on WhatsApp); or Befrienders Kuala Lumpur (03-7627 2929/email sam@befrienders.org.my/visit www.befrienders.org.my/centre- in-malaysia).
