The number of suicides among schoolchildren in Japan totaled 499 in 2020, up 100 from a year earlier and marking the highest level on record, according to finalized government statistics.

Health ministry officials attributed the increase to worries among young people about their studies and career paths, as well as family discord as they spent more time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2020 tally was the highest since comparable data became available in 1980, according to the National Police Agency.