According to a survey, nearly half of Japan’s young people have had suicidal thoughts.
The country, which saw its population fall by 556,000 in 2022 from the previous year to 124.9 million, has at least “one in every two young people” having suicide thoughts, according to a survey performed by Tokyo-based Nippon Foundation.
Suicide was the main cause of mortality among young people in Japan in 2019, 2020, and 2021, according to the Health Ministry.
“Of 14,555 people aged 18 to 29 surveyed…, 44.8% had suicidal ideation in the face of difficulties such as difficult relationships with people close to them, bullying, and concern about future educational or career paths,” Kyodo News said on Thursday.
Approximately 40% of the 44.8% of the young people “had attempted suicide or taken some steps toward preparing to kill themselves.”
“Trauma, such as sexual abuse and bullying, played a significant role in increasing the likelihood of such thoughts,” the survey discovered.
Amid a troubling trend of rising suicide ideation among its youth, Japan has registered a record drop of nearly 0.5 million in its already declining population in 2022, marking the 12th consecutive year of decline.
Meanwhile, according to government data released on Thursday, Japan’s child population aged 14 and under “fell for the 42nd consecutive year to hit a new record low… to 14.35 million as of April 1, down by around 300,000 from a year earlier.” Foreigners are included in this age group.
According to government figures released last month, the country’s overall population fell by 556,000 from a year earlier to 124.9 million in 2022, while the number of Japanese nationals fell to its lowest level on record.
The population, including foreign residents, remained at 124,9 million as of Oct. 1, with the number of Japanese nationals falling by 750,000 to 122 million, the greatest drop since comparable figures were made available in 1950.
The frightening trend indicates that Tokyo urgently needs to build a social structure to deal with the dual burden of a declining birthrate and an elderly population.
According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, all of Japan’s 47 provinces save Tokyo had a decrease in the number of residents in the year to October of last year.