General News

Suicides among Youth in Japan Remain High in 2023: Govt

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which compiled the statistics

Jiji Press

13:55 JST, October 29, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—The number of elementary to high school students who committed suicide in Japan stood at 513 in 2023, against the record high of 514 marked the previous year, a government report showed Tuesday.

Of the total, high school students accounted for 347, junior high school students 153, and elementary school children 13, according to the 2024 white paper for suicide prevention, adopted at a cabinet meeting.

While the total number of suicides in the country is decreasing, suicides among schoolkids are increasing. The annual report analyzed causes and motives behind suicides among elementary to high school students between 2009 and 2021.

The paper said that the notable factor for suicides among elementary school children was discipline and scolding from family members.

Among junior and senior high school boys, weak academic performance and worries over the choice of future courses in life were major reasons for committing suicide. Among female students, reasons behind many suicides were problems with interpersonal relationships including with friends.

In the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido and the Tohoku northeastern region, suicides among elementary to high school students began to rise two weeks earlier than elsewhere, apparently because the summer vacation period ends there one to two weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, the country’s total number of suicides in 2023 fell by 44 from the previous year to 21,837. The suicide rate, or the number of suicides per 100,000 population, was 17.6, against the previous year’s 17.5.

The number of suicides among women fell by 160 to 6,975, the first drop in four years. By contrast, suicides among men increased by 116 to 14,862.

Health issues were the top cause of suicides, followed by economic and livelihood problems and family issues.

In 2023, the government decided an emergency program to boost measures to prevent suicides among children. It is analyzing factors behind suicides while setting up suicide prevention teams composed of people in various professions.