Read ‘em：不登校の小中学生29万9048人

Elementary and junior high school students in Japan were absent from school for 30 days or more in record numbers due to factors besides illness and finances, an education ministry survey has found.

The number of students categorized as “truant” in the 2022 school year survey reached 299,048, an increase of 54,108, or 22.1%, from the year prior. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s survey on problematic behavior and truancy at national and other public schools and private institutions nationwide also found a record-breaking 681,948 bullying cases in elementary, junior and senior high and special-needs schools.

The number of elementary and junior high school students deemed truant has risen for 10 consecutive years. Recent years have seen a particularly rapid surge, with an increase of over 100,000 during the two-year period since the 2020 school year, when there were 196,127 truant students. The ministry believes “the fact that the coronavirus pandemic changed the living environment and disrupted daily rhythm (among children) may have affected the increase.”

“Lethargy and anxiety” were together chosen as the most common factor for refusing to attend school at 51.8%, followed by “disrupted daily rhythm, playing and delinquency” at 11.4% and “trouble between friends” at 9.2%.

Of the elementary and junior high school students who were deemed truant, 114,217, or 38.2%, were not receiving counseling or guidance in or out of school. Using digital devices or other means, 10,409 students took classes at home and were treated as attending in student records — the basis for report cards and school reports. There were 60,575 truant high school students, up 18.8% from the previous academic year.

Meanwhile, the number of recognized bullying cases increased 10.3% to 551,944 in elementary schools and 13.8% to 111,404 in junior high schools versus the previous academic year. Cases of “serious” bullying, in which a student suffers severe physical or mental damage or is forced into an extended absence, also increased by 30.7%, resulting in a record-high 923 cases.

The most common form of bullying was “being ridiculed, teased, slandered, threatened and the victim of nasty remarks” at 57.4%, followed by “being lightly bumped and hit or kicked while pretending to play” at 23.4% and “being ostracized or ignored in groups” at 11.7%.

The education ministry believes the rise in recognized bullying cases was influenced by increasing opportunities for children to interact with each other as school clubs and activities resumed following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Regarding schools’ initial responses before bullying cases were marked “serious,” as many as 38.7% said they “didn’t even recognize bullying was occurring.” The ministry pointed out that “there were issues with schools’ recognition of bullying and organizational responses.”

　文部科学省が2022年度、全国の国公私立学校を対象に実施した「問題行動・不登校調査」で、病気や経済的理由などとは異なる要因により30日以上登校せず「不登校」と判断された小中学生が前年度比22・1％（5万4108人）増の29万9048人となり、過去最多を更新したことが判明した。小中高と特別支援学校のいじめの認知件数も68万1948件で過去最多だった。

　不登校と判断された小中学生は10年連続で増加。近年の増え幅が顕著で、20年度の19万6127人から2年間で10万人以上増えた。文科省は「新型コロナウイルス禍で生活環境が変化し、生活リズムが乱れたことが影響した可能性がある」と分析している。

　要因別でみると「無気力、不安」（51・8％）▽「生活リズムの乱れ、あそび、非行」（11・4％）▽「友人関係の問題」（9・2％）――などの順に多かった。

　不登校の小中学生のうち、学校内外で相談や指導を受けていない児童生徒は38・2％の11万4217人。自宅でデジタル端末などを活用して授業を受け、通知表や調査書（内申書）の元となる指導要録上は「出席」扱いになったのは1万409人いた。不登校と判断された高校生は18・8％増の6万575人となった。