Suicides and Ways Out for Children - Thoughts on September 1

Kuniyasu Hiraiwa | Hokago NPO After-school Representative Director

The original Japanese article was published at 11:00, on August 31, 2016

(Photo: Aflo）

Can you guess what this graph is about?

This is a graph on the “No. of Suicides by Minors Under 18 by Date” in Japan. (Source: Cabinet Office “2015 White Paper on Suicide Prevention in Japan”) It shows the aggregate number of suicides by minors under 18 for the past 40 years.

The date that stands out in this graph that looks like an electrocardiogram is September 1, when schools in Japan recommence for the second term.

This was much talked about also last year, and the following tweet made by a library in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was praised by many people. It also made the “September 1” problem widely known.

In Japan, there is a newspaper called “Futoko Shimbun (Truancy Newspaper)”.

This is “Japan’s only specialized newspaper on truancy and hikikomori (social recluse)” and was first published in 1998. (In Japan, “truancy” is a state in which the student is absent from school for many days for reasons other than sickness, such as anxiety, psychological exhaustion, and troubles with friends and teachers, etc. “hikikomori” is a state in which a person refuses to leave his/her house and isolate him/herself from social activities for a long period of time.)

The following incident became the trigger to begin the publication.

Again, “September 1” was the catalyst.

This problem had actually been with us for more than 10 years.

According to the data from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (School Basic Survey), there are 26,000 long-term absentees in elementary schools (an increase of 2,000 on the preceding year) and 97,000 in junior high schools (an increase of 2,000 on the preceding year).

The percentage of schools that have non-attending students are: 47.8% of all elementary schools and 85.5% of all junior high schools in Japan.

1 out of 36 students in junior high schools is truant.

This means that, “in most junior high schools, there are students who are truant and that there is a non-attending student in every class.”

I interviewed Mr. Ishii, the chief editor of “Futoko Shimbun” about the current situation.

・ The current circulation of “Futoko Shimbun” is about 2,400 and the figure continues to grow.

・ The newspaper is mostly read by the parents of non-attending pupils, and from the 2000s, readers have increased among the parents of non-attending high school and university students.

・ Over 1,000 persons who have experienced truancy have appeared in the newspaper and we have received many comments saying that they have been encouraged that “they are not alone.”

・ Many parents who are readers ask for manuals and FAQ on truancy. (Everybody is troubled about how to respond to their children.)

We can see that it is not only the students but also the parents who are currently being isolated.

Do children have a way out？

“Hokago NPO After-school”, an NPO to which I belong to, runs after-schools in elementary schools.

The staffs are at the site from the morning to prepare for the after-school activities.

Knowing that, there are children who come directly to the “After-school” facility in the morning.

These children are almost truant and dropping out of school, but come to “After-school” which is somehow fun.

We consult with the teachers in the elementary school, place importance on the fact that these children are motivated to come out of the house, and warmly watch over them.

There are some children who went back to their classes over time.

One girl could not mingle in well with the class and became truant when she was in Grade 4.

She skipped one class event and that became the reason why she couldn’t join her circle of friends after that.

“I don’t want to go to school, but I want to go to “After-school” to enjoy sports and play.” So she started coming directly to “After-school”.

She was just lying around and occasionally talking while the staffs were getting prepared, but still she didn’t look uncomfortable.

When it became difficult for this girl to attend school, she also became unable to separate with her mother. But while she was at the “After-school”, she didn’t mind being away from her mother.

We have become a counsellor also for her mother who is deeply worried.

Her mother wishes that the girl returns to school so we hope to be able to help her return, a little at a time without too much pressure.

Considering the sad situation whereby children who do not want to go back to school after the summer holiday take their own life, the “importance of a way out” comes to my mind.

Libraries as well as our organization, “After-school”, are the way out for troubled children. In another words, the “safety nets.”

Should we say, “Don’t run away, hang in there!” or should we say, “There’s also a way out.” to children who are in difficult situations?

On a short term basis, there may be situations for us adults to confront situations by intentionally cutting off escape routes. However, in order to be able to give our best efforts on a daily basis, I think that we need to have leeway in our minds, thinking that “there is a way out.”

Wouldn’t you agree with my view that we can struggle in our daily lives only because we have cushions such as weekends, family and friends?

Adults as well as children will be cornered if we feel cooped up, feeling that nobody will be on our side.

Is September 1 enough?

Another concern I have is whether “September 1” is the only day that we need to be on alert about.

Many Japanese have the impression that “September 1 is back to school day, and August 31 is the day to finish off the summer holiday homework!”

However, this principle does not necessarily apply these days.

More and more schools are reopening in August.

For reference, if we look at the 23 special wards of Tokyo, the following 7 wards out of the 23, reopen elementary schools in August.

In the 23 wards of Tokyo, a third reopens classes in August instead of the traditional September 1.

The reasons behind this are:

・ Increase in the number of lessons due to the swing back from the relaxed educational policy (Relaxed educational policy had been introduced in Japan instead of the traditional cramming style of education)

・ Partial introduction of the 2 semester system instead of the conventional 3 terms system

In addition, there are many schools that reopen in August in the northern districts from Hokkaido to Tohoku. Moreover, schools in Kumamoto shortened their summer holidays in order to make up for the days that they had to close for the earthquake which hit the area in April.

So the date that we have to watch out is not just “September 1”.

Again, if we go back to the data for the initial graph, the number of suicides by date (aggregate number for the last 40 years) is as follows:

The figures are also high for the dates before and after September 1.

This year again, we were confronted with the unfortunate news that there were incidents that suggest suicides by a first year junior high school boy from Aomori Prefecture on August 19, and by a second year junior high school girl also from Aomori Prefecture on August 25.

“September 1” is symbolic, but there are troubled children at any time, and we need to prepare a safety net for children in trouble everywhere at all times.

In contrast to “September 1”, which is the date that has the least number of suicides?

The answer is “January 2” which had 21 suicides.

The period around the New Year Holiday, for which family members gather in Japan, children do not need to go out and are supported by their families. Thus, the period has the least number of suicides by minors in the year.

This makes me feel the importance of many people supporting the children, and at the same time feel that something needs to be done to solve the current situation in which minors are committing suicide even during the New Year Holiday.

Now that “September 1” is approaching, I would like to rethink about a system in which the society as a whole can support children, and about how to increase the safety nets.

For example, if after-school facilities like ourselves and other services for children outside of school hours can make more effort, we can provide a place for the children to stay in the mornings.

It could be libraries or children’s halls (facilities provided by local governments for children to play in after-school hours). Cram schools will be open in the mornings and even facilities for the elderly could be the place.

I’m certain that if we look for them, there are people who would say, “welcome!” to the children.

I truly, truly hope that those children who are troubled and are in difficult situations, would not grit their teeth in desperation and not think of extreme solutions, but would instead run to places that will provide a safety net for their minds.

To those distressed children who might be reading this article

“We might be distant from you and you may not know us, but there are many grown-ups who want to save children who are in distress and who are in trouble. At the same time, we adults are also surviving by having some kind of ways out. So don’t strain yourself. Take it easy. Meanwhile, we will try to increase more places that can be a safety net for you.”