Editorial: Improved system to save suicidal children needed now more than ever

February 19 , 2026

In 2025, 532 children in elementary, junior high and high schools took their own lives—three more than 2024 and a record high—even as the number of adults committing suicide trends downward. No less grievous, many had tried to reach out for help, but their cries went unheard.

Among the causes cited for this tragedy are depression and other mental illnesses, academic underachievement and dysfunctional parental relationships, the vast majority treatable if diagnosed or detected at an early stage. The government is responding, but more steps must be taken.

One specific step is to identify children at risk by using an app pre-installed on the tablet computers that schools distribute to students; another step is to create “risk response teams” comprised of qualified counselors at every prefecture. Moreover, units set up by the Boards of Education and local police would step up monitoring of social media and internet chat boards to look for posts by minors who sharing thoughts about suicide. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will engage in efforts to raise public awareness of a 24-hour telephone service to counsel suicidal children.

These are important moves, but greater attention must be paid to the dependencies on online social networks. According to a study released by the National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center earlier this month, over 7% of children in their teens are believed to have some level of “pathological” dependence on social media, the largest among any other peer group. Devising ways to address and remedy this dependence clearly figures to play a major role in winning the battle to stem the tide of infant suicides.