A record number of public school educators took leave due to mental disorders in fiscal 2023, the third straight year of increase, according to a ministry survey.

Young educators accounted for a significant portion, making extending support to less experienced staff who recently entered the education field a pressing challenge. This demographic also joined the workforce after a mass retirement of veteran teachers.

The education ministry released the survey results on Dec. 20. The annual study covers teachers at public elementary, junior high and senior high schools, as well as specialized institutions for disabled children.

A record 7,119 educators, or 0.77 percent of the total, temporarily stepped away from their positions under the official leave system for mental illnesses in fiscal 2023, up 580 individuals, or 0.06 percentage point, from the previous year.

When combined with teachers who took paid days off for a month or more in total because of mental health complications, the overall number swelled to 13,045. This is 848 more than the previous year and represents 1.42 percent of all surveyed teachers, up 0.09 percentage point.

Across all industries, 0.6 percent of employees at businesses nationwide faced difficulties going to work for a month or longer due to a deteriorated psychological state, according to survey results released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2024.

It should be noted that details of official leave systems differ between teachers and workers in other fields.

By age group, educators in their 20s made up the highest percentage of those who took leave for mental issues, at 2.11 percent, followed by 1.66 percent for thirtysomethings, 1.53 percent for teachers in their 40s, and 1.10 percent for those in their 50s and above.

The ministry’s survey also revealed that a record 788 new teachers, 151 more than the year before, quit in less than a year of employment. Of them, 269 cited mental illness as the reason, 40 more than a year earlier.

This trend may be attributed to the increasingly younger pool of educators. For instance, 20.2 percent of teachers at elementary schools were in their 20s in 2022, 8.9 percentage points more compared to 15 years earlier.

“Fresh teachers who face various situations often struggle to provide guidance for children,” said an education ministry representative.

PROBLEM PARENTS

A 27-year-old elementary school teacher in western Japan’s Kansai region explained how he agonized over the handling of three pupils two years ago. He was responsible for a third-grade class at the time.

The pupils would abruptly shout and leave the classroom without the homeroom teacher’s permission, making it difficult for him to conduct lessons smoothly.

One of the pupils, a boy, would ostracize some classmates and kick girls.

The teacher reached out to his parents, but they refused to acknowledge their child was at fault. Instead, they stormed into the school in a rage each time the boy received a warning.

Constant headaches and abdominal pain, likely due to stress, began plaguing the educator.

When the parents eventually called the man “unbelievable as a teacher” in the principal’s office, the head of the school told him, “You should apologize for your inadequate teaching ability.”

The principal’s comment shattered his spirit, and the teacher found it impossible to go to work the next day. He was placed on sick leave.

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES

Education boards are beefing up efforts to protect school staff from psychological disorders.

Hirakata city in Osaka Prefecture embarked on a specialized program in fiscal 2023 to raise awareness of mental health so that educators from municipal-run schools can present their own institutes’ countermeasures via training sessions.

Discussions on psychological health during the monthly principal meeting helped improve the rate of teachers who undergo regular stress checkups. The percentage has jumped by 30 percentage points from four years earlier to 93.4 percent.

Additionally, Hirakata city recently hired a certified clinical psychologist to offer consultations to educators.

Tokyo similarly set up a dedicated hotline on the free messaging app Line in December 2023. Advice seekers can share their issues anonymously, and dozens of educators reportedly rely on the service each month.

An in-person consultation project is also under way, where certified clinical psychologists tour schools to support any staff member needing assistance.

WORKSTYLE CHANGES URGED

Satoru Oishi lectures on mental science at Kitasato University and is among those committed to offering support to educators.

“Educators are always expected to fulfill emotional responsibilities, such as caring for both children and their guardians,” Oishi said. “They frequently have to work on holidays or take their work home.”

It is not easy for teachers to confide in their supervisors.

“Personnel in managerial positions cannot afford to address subordinates’ troubles given the labor shortage at schools,” Oishi said. “Not only must their workstyle change, but a system also needs to be established to connect teachers with occupational health care staff members.”

Oishi added, “The notion that anyone can be stricken with mental disorders should be shared more broadly, too.”

(This article was written by Chika Yamamoto, Senior Staff Writer Mayumi Ujioka, Honomi Honma and Yoshika Uematsu.)