Relieve Anxiety for Parents and Children with School Refusal After Long Holidays! Instagram Live with 2 Former Female Junior and Senior High School Students as Guests: "Not Going to School, But Not Stopping Learning. ~Stories of Female Junior and Senior High School Students Who Regained Their Identity at a Free School"

The number of children with school refusal nationwide reaches 350,000, and child suicides are at an all-time high. In fiscal year 2024, the number of children with school refusal, which continues to increase, reached a record high of approximately 350,000, and the number of bullying cases also reached a record high of approximately 770,000 (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Survey on Problematic Behavior of Children and Students, School Refusal, and Other Issues in Student Guidance). In addition, the number of suicides among elementary, junior high, and high school students in 2025 (provisional figures) was 532, the highest since statistics began in 1980 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare).

"School problems" are the top cause of suicide among junior high school girls. Among "school problems," common issues include "poor academic performance," "other conflicts with classmates," and "other concerns about future career paths." For males, as they advance through school, items with a strong academic aspect, such as poor academic performance, entrance exams, and career path concerns, increase. On the other hand, for females, items with a strong academic aspect appear regardless of school stage, but items related to interpersonal relationships, such as conflicts with classmates, are also frequently observed (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare).

Isolated parents and children with school refusal Children who have experienced school refusal often have more anxiety about their future career paths compared to children who attend school, and their parents are similarly isolated due to a lack of information. Parents and children alike have many questions, such as "Can I go to high school even if I didn't go to school?" "I don't really understand the difference between full-time and correspondence high schools," and "Are children who used to refuse school now attending school?"

One in four parents leave their jobs due to school refusal. Furthermore, the proportion of parents who had to take leave or resign from their jobs due to their child's school refusal was one in four (NPO Key Design, 2024).

Listen to the thoughts of those involved. Through hearing directly from children who have experienced school refusal about why they couldn't go to school, their feelings at the time, and what prompted them to regain their energy and return to school, we aim to alleviate the anxiety of children and their parents currently struggling with school refusal.

[Symposium by female junior and senior high school students who experienced school refusal and free school staff] Date: April 25, 2026 (Saturday) Time: 14:00-15:30 Broadcast: Instagram Live Content: Online symposium with 3 female junior and senior high school students who experienced school refusal and attended a free school, and free school staff. Organizer: NPO Koko Keywords: School refusal, Free school, Junior high school students, Career counseling, High school students, Correspondence high school, Full-time high school, Job separation due to school refusal, Instagram Live, High school girls