After a decrease over the last five years, the number of students who refuse to go to school has started to increase again. According to the education ministry, the number of elementary and junior high school students absent more than 30 days a year for reasons other than sickness and financial difficulties topped 120,000 again in fiscal 2014. Nearly one student in every class, on average, is now failing to attend.
The number of students refusing to go to school hasn't dipped below 100,000 since 1997, a consistent problem that needs addressing. The education ministry should work harder to ensure all students can feel comfortable at school.
The reasons for refusing to attend are not hard to guess. In interviews, students cite anxiety and other emotional problems, psychological exhaustion, and troubles with friends and teachers as the primary reasons. Bullying has recently been considered a distinct, though of course related, problem, in order to focus on solving that particular problem more proactively.