Japan has always been among the countries in the world where the highest number of suicides occur. But for the past years, there has been a change in this trend. Especially, its cases had decreased among adults. But now the data published for 2024 has shown that cases of suicide have increased rapidly among elementary, middle and high-school children. In 2024, 527 children committed suicide. This is the highest in the last forty years. The reason behind this increasing trend of suicide among children under 19 years of age is uncertainty about career, mental health problems and family problems. Let us understand the increasing cases of suicide among children in Japan in some detail.
Actually, the suicide rate among adults in Japan has been decreasing for many years. But unfortunately, now children are moving in this direction. The suicide rate among Japanese children has been recorded to be higher than ever before. Therefore, the authorities are struggling to find solutions to this. Last year, the total number of people who committed suicide in Japan was 22 thousand 680. These included 13 thousand 763 men and 6 thousand 505 women. Compared to last year, this year there has been a decrease of 1 thousand 569 people in the cases of suicide in Japan. Also, since 1978 – the time Japan started registering suicide cases, this is the second year when so few suicides took place.
But the worry lies elsewhere. The number of primary, middle and high school children committing suicide reached a record high of 527 last year i.e. 2024. There was an increase of 14 in this as compared to last year i.e. 2023. The number of suicide cases among children in 2024 is the highest since 1980. 15 primary school children, 163 middle school children and 349 high school children have committed suicide. The biggest reasons for suicide among these children under the age of 19 include school problems and uncertainty about life, mental health problems and family problems. There are some more ends to this story.
Such message boards are also set up for children in Japan, where they can express their sorrows and sufferings without revealing their name. Every month 5 thousand anonymous posts come to these places. Most of the people who post say that they are struggling with the anger of their parents. Also, the children do not like their parents' view of the world. At the same time, some children also understand that their parents do not understand their struggle with gender or mental illness. Some children in Japan call the helpline or local counseling center, but some do not want to talk to elders about their issues. This becomes the root cause of the problem.
