自杀是日本的主要社会问题之一。自从新冠疫情暴发后，日本女性自杀率开始飙升，学龄儿童的自杀人数也创下了40多年来的新高，与此同时旷课学生数量也居高不下。图片来源：路透社日本当地媒体援引本国文部科学省的数据称，日本儿童自杀人数创下四十多年来的新高。Child suicides in Japan are the highest they have been in more than four decades, local media have reported, citing the country's education ministry.文部科学省的一项调查显示，去年以来新冠疫情迫使学校关闭，学生无法正常上课，据报告在此期间有415名中小学生自杀。As the COVID-19 pandemic prompted school closings and disrupted classrooms last year, 415 children from elementary to high school age were recorded as having taken their own lives, according to the education ministry's survey.据《朝日新闻》10月14日报道，儿童自杀人数达到了自1974年有记录以来的最高峰，相比去年增加了近100人。The number is up by nearly 100 from last year, the highest since record-keeping began in 1974, the Asahi newspaper reported on Thursday.作为一种避免羞辱的方式，自杀在日本的历史由来已久，日本的自杀率在七国集团中长年居首。但是在举国努力下，过去15年日本自杀率已经下降了约40%，2009年以来更是十年连降。Suicide has a long history in Japan as a way of avoiding perceived shame or dishonour, and its suicide rate has long topped the Group of Seven nations, but a national effort brought numbers down by roughly 40 percent over 15 years, including 10 straight years of decline from 2009.注：七国集团是一个由世界七大发达国家经济体组成的国际组织，目前成员为美国、加拿大、英国、法国、德国、意大利及日本。疫情暴发后，日本的自杀率从2020年又开始上升。在新冠疫情导致的情感和经济压力下，女性自杀人数大增，但是男性自杀人数有所下降。Amid the pandemic, suicides increased in 2020 after a decade of declines, with the number of women committing suicide surging amid the emotional and financial stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic, although fewer men took their own lives.据媒体报道，文部科学省称，逾19万6127名学龄儿童已经旷课30天（含30天）以上，旷课人数创历史新高。The education ministry said a record high of more than 196,127 school children were absent for 30 days or more, media reported.日本广播协会援引一名文部科学省官员的话称，调查结果显示，疫情导致的学校和家庭环境的改变对儿童行为产生了很大影响。The results showed that changes in school and household environments due to the pandemic have had a huge impact on children's behaviour, NHK quoted an education ministry official as saying.