Crisis Care · Japan
Student suicides in Japan reached a record 529 in 2024
The 2024 figure was itself a record high before being surpassed by 2025 — a two-year trend Japanese officials are openly calling a crisis.
The Japan Times' reporting on the 2024 final figures — 529 schoolchildren died by suicide, up 16 from 2023 — sits at the head of a two-year trend now drawing sustained domestic and international coverage.
The piece traces the discrepancy between adult suicide rates (continuing to fall) and child suicide rates (continuing to rise), and what that gap suggests about whether existing national prevention strategies are reaching young people.
Read the Japan Times' full report for the year-over-year figures and ministry response.
Mental Hum is a reading list, not a publisher. The summary above is our own editorial framing; the reporting and analysis live at the source.
If reading this brought something up for you —
Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. See all crisis resources.