Suicides among schoolchildren hit record high in fast-shrinking Japan

The rise in youth suicides could be attributable to the lingering impact of the pandemic, said a Japanese health ministry official

By age group, those in their 50s accounted for the largest number of suicides, while those in their 80s also showed a significant increase

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Junior high school students return home from school in Tokyo. A record 514 schoolchildren died by suicide in Japan last year. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:05am, 15 Mar 2023

A record 514 schoolchildren in Japan died by suicide last year, topping the previous high of 499 seen in 2020, government data showed Tuesday, with the upwards trend apparently fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Suicides among girls also increased for the third straight year, rising by 67 from the previous year to 7,135, the data showed.

Overall, the number of people taking their own lives in Japan increased by 874 to 21,881, with suicides among men and boys seeing the first increase in 13 years at 14,746 cases, up 807 from the year before.

Students wear face masks at a high school graduation ceremony in Gifu, central Japan, earlier this month. Officials attributed the rise in suicides among schoolchildren to the lingering effects of the pandemic. Photo: Kyodo

A total of 17 junior school pupils, 143 junior high school students and 354 high school students killed themselves in 2022.

The rise in the numbers could be attributable to the lingering impact of the pandemic, which began in 2020, said a health ministry official working on measures to prevent suicides.

“We will closely monitor the situation and deepen our analysis, including the impact of the coronavirus,” the official said.

The number of suicides per 100,000 people increased to 17.5, up 0.8 from 2021.