Why Returning to School After Summer Is So Painful for Japanese Teens

A New Term Brings Dread for Many Students

Among 216 young people aged 10 to 18 who already struggled with school life, 73.1% described the start of a new term as "painful." Just 1.9% said they were actively looking forward to it. The survey by Daisan Kazoku, a nonprofit based in Yokohama, captures the anxiety that can accompany the end of summer vacation in Japan.

As August 28, 2025, brings the country closer to September 1, when most schools reopen, attention is again turning to the safety of children who fear returning to class. For millions of students, the end of the holiday means returning to lessons, classmates and expectations. For some, it also means returning to a place associated with distress.

The concern goes beyond reluctance to finish homework or wake up early. A Cabinet Office study covering 1972 to 2013 recorded 131 suicides among children on September 1, more than on any other day of the year. Japan also recorded 529 suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high school students in 2024, its highest total ever.

Academic pressure, difficult relationships, isolation and mental health problems all feature in the crisis. Government telephone services, community refuges and public appeals offer support, while researchers and advocates argue that children need help designed around their own lives.

The challenge is concrete: making sure a student who feels unable to return to school has somewhere safe to go, someone willing to listen and access to care. The survey helps explain why that can be difficult.

What Students Say Makes School Difficult

Daisan Kazoku asked young people who identified themselves as struggling with school life about the approaching term. Alongside the 73.1% who called it painful, 14.4% described it as "boring." The small share looking forward to returning shows how little comfort school offered many of those taking part.

Fear of being judged by others was the most frequently cited concern, reported by 79.6%. A stifling school atmosphere followed at 71.3%. Nearly half said they had no friends, while 44% said they could not keep up with classes.

The survey focused on students already having difficulties. Their answers describe a group for whom academic demands and social pressure can arrive together: falling behind in lessons, worrying about how others see them and lacking a friend to turn to during the day.

For a child in that position, summer can provide distance from an uncomfortable environment. Its ending brings the prospect of facing the same problems again. The findings place relationships and the atmosphere inside schools alongside grades as central concerns.

Why September 1 Draws National Concern

September 1 has become a focus of suicide prevention efforts because of its place in the school calendar and the historical pattern recorded by the Cabinet Office. The 131 deaths on that date across 1972 to 2013 represent the highest total for any single calendar day in the study.

Another rise occurs in April, when schools reopen after spring break. September remains the month with the highest number of student suicides, coinciding with the end of summer vacation and the beginning of the second school term.

Public campaigns and outreach by celebrities intensify as September approaches. Their message is that children experiencing distress can ask for support, and that struggling with school is something they can talk about.

The dates and figures show how the concern has developed:

• 1972 to 2013: The Cabinet Office study recorded 131 child suicides on September 1, the highest total for any date.
• August to November 2020: Youth suicides increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 2022: Japan recorded 514 suicides among school students, then the highest annual total.
• 2024: The total reached a new record of 529.
• August 28, 2025: The approaching return to school again brings attention to children experiencing distress.

A Record Total Despite a Broader Decline

Japan's 529 student suicides in 2024 exceeded the previous record of 514 in 2022 by 15 deaths. The total includes children in elementary school as well as students in junior high and senior high school.

School concerns featured among the leading factors, including academic performance, conflicts with peers and anxiety about future prospects. Health problems, including depression, were cited in nearly a third of cases. Family issues were a factor in 20%.

A child's distress may therefore reach across several parts of life. Problems with classmates can exist alongside difficulty studying, concerns at home or depression. Support has to respond to the particular pressures a child faces, including those outside the classroom.

Japan's broader suicide rate has fallen substantially since its peak in 2003. Children and adolescents have not followed the same downward course. That contrast suggests that measures helping adults may leave important needs among younger people unmet.

Exams, Bullying and the Pressure to Fit In

Japan's competitive education system places considerable weight on examinations and performance. Students who cannot keep up can feel inadequate or hopeless, particularly when their results seem closely connected to their future opportunities.

Bullying, known as ijime, adds another source of distress. A student facing repeated mistreatment may feel unable to escape the people responsible. The survey's finding that nearly half of respondents had no friends shows how isolation can sit alongside those pressures.

Group harmony and conformity hold an important place in Japanese society. Belonging to a group can provide support, but expectations to fit in can become suffocating for children whose personalities, interests or academic abilities differ from those around them.

Dr. Ken Takaoka, a child psychiatrist, explains that schools prioritize collectivism, meaning the needs and expectations of the group receive strong attention. Children who have difficulty getting along within that group are more likely to suffer.

Teachers may also avoid intervening in bullying to preserve classroom harmony. Some may participate in excluding students who are different. For a child seeking help, the conduct of the adults responsible for the classroom is therefore part of the problem.

When Distress Stays Hidden

Mental health stigma can make it harder for students to explain what is happening. Despite growing awareness, mental health problems remain taboo in Japan, and some young people believe they must endure their difficulties in silence.

Aya Abe, a professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University, says there is still little awareness that children can have mental health problems. She argues that government measures have been largely ineffective and that many interventions are designed around adults rather than the needs of children and adolescents.

Some students retreat from social life altogether. The phenomenon known as hikikomori involves extreme social withdrawal. For young people who feel they have no outlet for their emotions, withdrawing can further reduce contact with people who might offer support.

Historical attitudes also form part of the discussion. Unlike traditions in many Western societies that regard suicide as a sin, Japan has a history of viewing it as a way to take responsibility or seek forgiveness. That history includes seppuku among samurai and kamikaze pilots during World War II. Present efforts to prevent suicide focus on encouraging people in distress to seek safety and assistance.

Access to professional help presents another difficulty. Japan has fewer psychiatrists per person than other developed nations, coordination among mental health professionals is limited, and government mandated training for clinical psychologists is lacking. Support available through schools is often insufficient.

What Government and Communities Are Doing

Japan's government has introduced awareness campaigns, public discussion of mental health and telephone counseling available around the clock for children and parents. The Children and Families Agency is also working to spread awareness about the reality of child suicide.

Charities and nongovernmental organizations encourage students to stay home when school becomes unbearable. That message gives priority to a child's immediate safety and creates room to seek help outside the classroom.

Libraries and Tokyo's Ueno Zoo have offered themselves as refuges for children afraid to return to school. Such invitations make support tangible by naming places where a distressed student can go.

Celebrities and influencers also use social media to reach young people with messages of hope and solidarity. Their outreach becomes especially visible around the return to school, when some children may be reluctant to speak directly to a teacher or parent.

Abe's criticism points to a continuing weakness: greater public awareness needs to lead to support that children can actually use. A telephone service, a welcoming public space and professional treatment meet different needs, and students may require more than one kind of help.

How Yami Kawaii Makes Pain Visible

Some young people express mental health struggles through yami kawaii, a fashion trend whose name means "sick-cute." It combines the pastel colors associated with mainstream kawaii culture with darker imagery connected to emotional pain.

Pink dresses may be paired with necklaces shaped like syringes, while some T-shirts carry the words "I want to die." For young people experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts, the style can signal recognition and solidarity with others facing similar feelings.

Misha Janette, a fashion critic, describes the trend as a form of cosplay that allows people to make light of their depression and connect with others in similar situations. Clothing becomes a way to communicate emotions that may be difficult to express in ordinary conversation.

Bill Cleary, clinical director at TELL Lifeline, believes expressing emotions through fashion can reduce shame and provide a safe setting for sharing experiences. His view connects the trend to a wider need for places where young people can talk about distress without feeling judged.

The appeal of yami kawaii also sits alongside the survey's findings about isolation. Some students who struggle to find acceptance in school seek understanding through shared styles and communities outside its usual social groups.

The Pandemic and Lessons From Disaster

COVID-19 made mental health challenges more severe for Japanese young people. School closures, social isolation and stress within families all contributed to the difficulties they faced. Youth suicides increased particularly between August and November 2020.

Rates subsequently moved closer to levels before the pandemic, while remaining elevated. The effects of disrupted schooling, reduced social contact and family stress have continued to linger.

Research suggests that mental health support and regular opportunities for social interaction can help reduce these effects. For a young person who has become isolated, a reliable connection with other people can be an important part of receiving support.

Lessons from earlier disasters, including the Great East Japan Earthquake, also point to the value of physical activity, psychological support and attention to depressed mood. Together, these approaches can help adolescents develop resilience, the ability to cope with difficult experiences and recover from them.

Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing Diverge

A recent UNICEF report ranked Japan 32nd out of 43 developed and emerging nations for youth mental wellbeing. Its youth suicide rate was the fourth highest among the wealthy states surveyed.

Japan ranked first for physical health in the same comparison. The contrast puts two aspects of children's lives side by side: strong physical health outcomes and much weaker mental wellbeing.

The international picture adds context to the domestic figures. Japan's falling suicide rate across the wider population has occurred alongside continuing concern about children and adolescents, including the record number of student deaths in 2024.

For schools and families, that means attention to children's health must include how they feel, whether they have supportive relationships and whether they can obtain help. Good physical health and success in lessons can coexist with emotional distress.

What More Support Would Mean for Students

Experts and advocates call for changes across homes, schools and mental health services. Open conversations about distress would make it easier for students to speak, while training for teachers, parents and peers could help them recognize warning signs and respond without judgment.

Schools also need more counselors and mental health professionals, with services shaped around children and adolescents. Better access would give students more opportunities to discuss problems before those problems become overwhelming.

Reducing the intense focus on examinations and rankings is another proposed response. Giving students room to learn at their own pace and pursue different interests could ease pressure on those who feel that falling behind defines their worth.

Programs that build friendship and inclusion can address the loneliness described in the Daisan Kazoku survey. Efforts to strengthen resilience and social connection also respond to the isolation associated with bullying and withdrawal.

Creative expression, including yami kawaii, offers another way to understand what young people are trying to communicate. Listening to those expressions can create opportunities for conversation and connection.

The immediate aim as schools reopen is to make safety and support accessible. The broader goal is a school and home life in which children feel valued for who they are, as well as for what they achieve academically.

Key Points

• In a Daisan Kazoku survey of 216 young people struggling with school life, 73.1% described the new term as painful.
• Fear of judgment, a stifling school atmosphere, loneliness and difficulty keeping up with lessons were major concerns.
• A Cabinet Office study covering 1972 to 2013 recorded 131 child suicides on September 1, more than on any other date.
• Japan recorded 529 student suicides in 2024, exceeding the previous record of 514 in 2022.
• Government telephone counseling, community refuges and public campaigns offer support, while advocates seek services better suited to children.
• Proposed responses include more counselors, less academic pressure, stronger social connections and greater openness about mental health.