538 suicides recorded among junior high and high school students in 2025
TOKYO, September 10. /TASS/. While the total number of suicides recorded in Japan in 2025 fell to a record low, the figure among teenagers is rising and has reached its highest level since record-keeping began. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara announced this at a regular press conference.
“The total number of suicides last year was the lowest on record. However, the number of cases among elementary, junior high, and high school students reached a record high,” he noted, marking the start of Suicide Prevention Week in Japan and emphasizing that the situation remains extremely serious.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, 19,188 suicides were recorded in the country in 2025—the first time the figure has dropped below the 20,000 mark since statistics were first compiled in 1980. At the same time, the number of suicides among minors has risen for the second consecutive year, reaching 1,082. Elementary, junior high, and high school students accounted for 538 of these suicides, also a record high.
Kihara stated that authorities are continuing efforts to expand counseling and comprehensive support systems, integrating mental health measures, social welfare, and employment assistance. “Regarding suicide prevention among children and young people, we are expanding counseling services via social media and implementing ‘proactive support’ aimed at the early identification of young people in need of help,” he explained. As part of Suicide Prevention Week in Japan, public awareness efforts on the issue are being stepped up, the Chief Cabinet Secretary added, pledging that the government would do its utmost to create a society in Japan “where no one is driven to suicide.”
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