Step up with TELL to make a difference
In 2024, 20,320 lives were lost in Japan to suicide – including 1,077 students, 529 of whom were between 6-18 years old. (警察庁生活安全局生活安全企画課, 2025) This year, our focus is on our youth. Last year, suicide remain the leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 34. (厚生労働省大臣官房統計情報部, 2025)
While the reasons are hard to pinpoint, (Morishita, 2025; Okada et al., 2023; Goto et al., 2022; Matsubayashi et al., 2016; 認定NPO法人キッズドア, n.d.) – behind the numbers, is a child, a student, a younger version of ourselves navigating the brilliance, imperfections and complexity of being human.
Much is beyond our control, but we can encourage youth experiencing the stages of life we have navigated. We can create loving and joyful communities rooted in the shared understanding that life holds both calm and chaos. We can build spaces where youth can speak openly without fear of judgment. We can continue to model resilience and self-care ourselves so our youth feel empowered to do the same.
As we kick off the Step-Up event this year, we honour those we have lost prematurely and the future we no longer get to share. To those who have lost, while our stories are unique, let’s take comfort that they rhyme. They rhyme because loss & grief & love, is a universal human story. If you wish, consider joining us in Tokyo or Okinawa on September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, for our candlelight vigil in remembrance.
We hope you will join us for our Step-Up Challenge event, or take part in other TELL activities – for we can make a difference – if we do it together.
References:
- Goto, R., Okubo, Y., & Skokauskas, N. (2022). Reasons and trends in youth’s suicide rates during the covid-19 pandemic. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 27, 100567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100567
- Matsubayashi, T., Ueda, M., & Yoshikawa, K. (2016). School and seasonality in youth suicide: Evidence from Japan. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 70(11), 1122–1127. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-207583
- Morishita Erika, S. O. (2025, February 13). Record numbers of young Japanese taking their lives -what can be done?: NHK World-Japan News. NHK WORLD. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/3809/
- Okada, M., Matsumoto, R., Shiroyama, T., & Motomura, E. (2023). Suicidal mortality and motives among middle-school, high-school, and university students. JAMA Network Open, 6(8). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.28144
- 子どもの自殺｜日本の子どもの自殺の現状と世界との比較. 認定NPO法人キッズドア. (n.d.). https://kidsdoor.net/issue/suicide.html
- 警察庁生活安全局生活安全企画課 (2025). Chiyoda, Tokyo; 厚生労働省. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/vickie/FMfcgzQcpKlQFRpvwwRRpWPfrnfjJMXr?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1.
- 厚生労働省大臣官房統計情報部、 人口動態統計月報年計(概数)の概況 11–12 (2024).