Japan’s Youth Suicides Hit 30-year High: Survey

Japan’s Youth Suicides Hit 30-year High: Survey
In 2010, officials recorded more than 200 attempted suicides with attempts said to increase during the end of the Japanese fiscal year. Carl Court/Getty Images
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TOKYO—Suicides by Japanese youth have reached a 30-year-high, the education ministry said on Nov. 5, even as overall suicide numbers have steadily declined over the past 15 years.

A total of 250 children in elementary school, middle school and high school killed themselves in the fiscal year through March, up from 245 the previous year, according to a ministry survey. That was the highest since 1986, when 268 students took their own lives.