The number of elementary and junior high school children who refused to go to school for at least 30 days in fiscal 2022 jumped 22.1% from the previous year to a record 299,048, an education ministry survey showed Tuesday.
The increase seems to show how the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted children's daily routines, made it difficult for them to form personal connections, ministry officials said.
The number of absent students rose 29% to 105,112 at elementary schools and 18.7% to 193,936 at junior high schools. They together represented 3.2% of all students, up 0.6 percentage point.
A sense of lethargy or anxiety topped the list of reasons for refusing to go to school, at 51.8%, followed by disrupted life rhythm, delinquency or a desire to play more, at 11.4%.
The number of recognized cases of bullying at elementary to senior high schools and other educational institutions grew 10.8% to a record 681,948.
Bullying cases came to 551,944 at elementary schools, up 10.3%; 111,404 at junior high schools, up 13.8%, and 15,568 at senior high schools, up 10%.
Cases of online defaming totaled 23,920. Serious bullying cases, which harmed victims' lives or minds or bodies or damaged their properties, hit a record 923, up 30.7%. About 40% of the serious cases were not recognized as bullying in the past.