The number of people who killed themselves in Japan fell to 20,268 in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of decline and the second-lowest level after 20,169 in 2019, the health ministry said Wednesday.
Elementary, junior high and high school students accounted for 527, the highest level since records began in 1980, with the number staying above 500 for the third straight year. Of them, a record 163 junior high school students killed themselves.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Keiichiro Tachibana said the government "takes very seriously" that the number of such students marked a record high.
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