As a 17-year-old Japanese student jumped to her death from a shopping centre on Sunday, it marked more than one tragedy. Not only had a young person taken the extreme step to end her life, she had done so on a date that now marks a macabre place on calendars in Japan: September 1.
While the exact cause of Sunday’s suicide is not known, September 1 has for years seen hundreds of young people end their lives in Japan. According to a BBC report citing official statistics, more Japanese people under the age of 18 kill themselves on 1 September than on any other day.
Early September is when schools in Japan reopen after summer vacations, and “school problems” were cited as the most common factor when 513 children took their lives on September 1, 2023, in Japan, BBC reported.
The numbers are also high in early April, when the first semester begins in the Japanese school calendar, another report by the British media portal noted in 2015.
Although Japan’s suicide rate is slowly decreasing among the general population, it is rising among young Japanese people. Japan is the only G7 country where suicide is the leading cause of death for teenagers, as per BBC.
As concerns over the trend have risen, initiatives have been taken to reach out to students to keep them from crumbling under pressure. There are government helplines, a nonprofit that runs a newspaper for school refusers, and a media campaign that calls for students to voice their concerns and anxieties.
Futoko — People Who Don’t Go To School
Students who don’t want to return to school are known as ‘futoko’, or “people who don’t go to school”, BBC reported. The reasons cited for not wanting to return include family circumstances, personal issues with friends, and bullying.
Nanae Munemasa, a student who claimed to have been bullied since elementary school, told CNN in 2015 that the long break during the summer holidays enables students to stay at home. So, when the holidays are over, students begin to worry about going back to school and the possibility of getting bullied, Nanae said, adding that suicide may seem like the only option in these circumstances.
She blamed the Japanese education system’s focus on collective thinking as the root cause of the problem, according to the report.
Child psychiatrist Dr Ken Takaoka agreed and told CNN that the suicide rate increases when school restarts because schools “prioritise collective (action)”. “Children who do not get along in a group will suffer,” he added.
The competitive nature of entrance exams has also been noted as a stress factor among students. “The Japanese term for the entrance exam race includes the word ‘war’ – it is a fierce battle for many Japanese children,” the 2015 BBC report noted.
How Japan Is Trying To Help Its Children
In order to help children cope with the stressors, Japanese broadcaster NHK started a campaign on Twitter in 2017 called “on the night of Aug. 31”. In one tweet as part of the campaign, Naoki Ogi, a well-known TV personality, told teens that if they feel that school isn’t a safe environment for them, they do not have to go and that it is important to rest and have peace of mind.
A Tokyo-based-non-profit 3keys operates a website named Mex for teenagers who feel like they cannot speak to their family or friends, particularly those who face problems such as abuse, bullying or suicidal thoughts, NHK reported in 2021. The site connects users with the appropriate help for their concerns, while offering a space where worried children can post their thoughts without seeking further intervention.