Based on reports from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as well as the National Police Agency, the preliminary data indicate that most of the suicides occurred in the months of March (47), June (60) and September (57), Kyodo news agency reported.

By level of education, upper secondary school accounted for 352 deaths, followed by lower secondary school (143) and elementary school (17), with a notable increase among boys.

According to the Health Ministry, student suicides were mainly attributed to concerns about poor academic performance, poor career prospects and stress related to school and university entrance exams.

In response to the year-on-year spike in self-inflicted deaths within the mentioned age group, MEXT directed the Asian country’s education boards to provide the best possible professional guidance, while strengthening surveillance to identify students with visible signs of stress.

The incidences were also high in the rest of the Japanese population, which amounts to almost 126 million inhabitants, of whom 21,584 took their own lives last year.

In this regard, at the end of January 2023, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said in a press conference that the government will promote comprehensive measures to develop a society in which no one is driven to suicide.

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