The number of teachers who took leave due to mental illness at public schools in Japan climbed to 7,119 in fiscal 2023, a record high for the third straight year, a government survey showed, with increased workloads cited as the biggest possible factor.
The figure for the year to March 2024 was up 580 from a year earlier, accounting for 0.77 percent of all teachers at elementary, junior high and high schools as well as special needs schools, or 1 in 130 individuals, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
When including teachers who took sick leave for over a month, the number rose to 13,045, or 1.42 percent of the total.
The number of teachers taking leave due to mental illness had fluctuated at around 5,000 in recent years but surged in the previous three years.
The education ministry said it would implement measures to support teachers' mental health, while working to reduce workloads by increasing teacher numbers.
Of those who took leave due to mental illness, 2,786, or 39.1 percent, had returned to work as of the start of the new fiscal year on April 1, 2024, with 2,903 still on sick leave and 1,430 having resigned.
The number of teachers who quit after less than a year hit a record high of 788, of whom 269 cited mental illness.
Meanwhile, the number of teachers who faced disciplinary action or were reprimanded for sexual crimes or assault also logged a record high of 320 in fiscal 2023, up 79 from the previous year, according to the education ministry.
Of them, 61 were punished for "intercourse" and 40 for "indecent conduct."
By age, those in their 20s made up the majority at 73, followed by 41 in their 30s. Nineteen individuals were in their 40s and 24 in their 50s or older.
The government is planning to launch in fiscal 2026 a system similar to the British government's Disclosure and Barring Service to block convicted sex offenders from being recruited for work involving children.
A law that came into force in 2022 allows prefectural education boards to reject the rehiring of former teachers whose teaching licenses expired after they were dismissed for sexual misconduct.
