Japan child suicides reach record high as experts warn of mounting pressures
The rise in child deaths contrasts with a broader decline in suicides, prompting scrutiny of school pressure and mental health support
Preliminary statistics released by the health ministry on Thursday showed the figure was up by three from the previous year and is the highest on record since comprehensive data were first made available in 1980.
In a statement issued the same day, Hitoshi Kikawada, minister for children’s policy, said, “This is a grave challenge society as a whole must confront, and the situation is deeply troubling.”
Experts are particularly alarmed because child suicides are rising even as the overall number of people dying by suicide continues to decline, a divergence they link to pressures ranging from school stress and bullying to gaps in mental health support.
In all, 19,097 people died by suicide in 2025, down from 20,268 the previous year and below the 20,000 threshold for the first time in over 45 years.
Among children, 10 junior school pupils died by suicide in 2025, along with 170 junior high school students and 352 senior high schoolers, the ministry said.