Japan’s education ministry says a record number of over 350,000 elementary and junior high school students missed school for long periods in the 2024 academic year. An expert says the increase may be related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on them earlier in their lives.
A survey by the ministry shows 353,970 students across the country were absent from school for 30 days or more from April last year through March. That’s up about 7,500 from the previous year.
The figure also marks the 12th straight year-on-year increase.
About 30 percent of the students said they did not feel motivated to lead a school life. A quarter said their body rhythms failed to adapt to school time schedules, while 24.3 percent cited anxiety and depression.
A total of 216,266 junior high students missed school, up about 150 from the previous academic year. The number of elementary school students who did the same rose about 7,300 to 137,704.
The figure for fifth and sixth graders has roughly quadrupled from the level posted 10 years earlier, while that for first and second graders climbed about seven-fold.
Atomi University Professor Oguri Takahiro noted that activities at kindergartens and other facilities for children were restricted during the pandemic. He suggested that this may have impacted children’s development and relationships with other people.
He says that if children start missing school in the lower grades, their parents sometimes have to quit their jobs because they have fewer choices for childcare support. He stresses the need to provide support to both children and their parents or guardians.
