The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the number of teachers leaving the classroom due to mental illness has increased significantly in Japan.

The causes are pointed to as stress and heavy workloads resulting from dealing with students and parents.

According to the results of a school teacher statistical survey recently released by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of teachers who retired due to mental illness reached 1,139 in fiscal year 2024, more than a twofold increase compared to the same survey 15 years prior.

The survey found that the primary reason teachers experience stress is the significant increase in handling students and parents.

According to a stress analysis of educators conducted in fiscal year 2024 by the Mutual Aid Association of Public School Teachers, which includes school staff across Japan, the proportion of teachers who reported experiencing "high stress"—the highest level of stress—was 11.8%, marking an all-time high.

Among the causes, "dealing with children or students who are difficult to manage" accounted for the largest share at 28%, surpassing "the volume of administrative work" (25%) for the first time.

Yomiuri analyzed that this is because the number of children requiring individual attention, such as those with developmental disabilities, school refusal, and bullying, has increased.

This was followed by "relationships with colleagues" (22%) and "dealing with parents" (17%), with the newspaper adding that both items have shown a prominent upward trend in recent years.

As teacher retirements due to mental illness increase, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and boards of education have stepped up efforts to reduce workloads and establish mental health measures.

To improve the treatment of teachers, the Special Measures Act on Public School Educational Personnel Salaries was amended last year, setting a target to reduce average monthly overtime hours to around 30 hours by fiscal year 2029.

In addition, guidelines under the amended law specify tasks that should be handled outside of schools, such as "responding to unreasonable demands from parents."

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