Photo/Illutration The location of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan’s health ministry said 21,837 people committed suicide in 2023, down fractionally from the previous year for the first decline in two years.

It said 513 children took their lives last year, almost tying the record of 514 in 2022.

The total number of confirmed suicides in 2023 was down 44, or 0.2 percent, from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The margin of decrease was greater among those aged 70 and older, it said.

Suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high school students have remained high since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Japan in early 2020.

The statistics and analysis of the deaths were based on National Police Agency data. The results were released March 29.

Suicides peaked at 34,427 in 2003 and dropped to 20,169 in 2019. But the figure has been going up since the novel coronavirus crisis swept the nation.

By gender, males accounted for 14,862 of the total, up 116 from the previous year, while the figure for females was 6,975, down 160 from a year earlier. Male suicides increased for the second consecutive year, while female suicides decreased for the first time in four years.

An analysis of deaths committed by elementary, junior high and senior high school students by cause and motive (up to four per person) showed that “school problems” was the most common cause, with 261 cases. “Health problems” followed with 147 cases, and “family problems” with 116 cases.

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