How the pandemic brought Asian children to breaking point

Young people in Japan, Thailand and Singapore have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic’s economic woes and associated lockdowns

Besides counselling, experts want children to be taught mindfulness and relaxation to manage negative thoughts and say adults just need to ‘make time to hear them out’

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The Covid-19 pandemic has left a trial of shattered lives across Asia. Photo: Shutterstock

Kok Xinghuiin Singapore,Julian Ryallin TokyoandVijitra Duangdeein Bangkok

Published: 8:30am, 27 Nov 2021Updated: 4:07pm, 27 Nov 2021

When a schoolgirl in Singapore climbed onto rail tracks in August, tragedy was only avoided after trains were halted and the police called in to escort her away. Another teen in Tokyo was not so fortunate, when in May she stepped in front of a JR Yokohama Line train. The driver saw her and hit the brakes, but it was too late. She was 16.

Police said the 16-year-old had a suicide note in her bag. Her death is now recorded among the hundreds of child suicides to have happened in Japan since the pandemic began.

Almost two years on, the Covid-19 pandemic has left a trial of shattered lives across Asia. From small business owners who lost livelihoods, to elderly residents isolated by lockdowns and the increased use of tech in their daily lives. But mental health advocates worry about another group whose plight has been less reported on: under-18s.

Across Asia, youth suicide rates have risen amid the pandemic, which saw classes move online, isolating young people from their friends as their parents battled their own stresses.

Japan recorded 499 child suicides last year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which tracks the figure for children aged 7-18. That figure – more than 25 per cent higher than in 2019, and 73 per cent higher than 2016’s 289 deaths – stands in stark contrast to the slow but steady decline Japan’s total suicide rate has been on for more than a decade.

In Singapore, the suicide rate among those aged 10-19 increased from four per 100,000 in 2019 to 5.5 per 100,000 last year. Valerie Lim, who runs Child Bereavement Support Singapore, has likewise seen an increase in the number of parents contacting her organisation after their child took their own lives. While she said the number hovered between two and four each year from 2013 to 2017, there were six in 2018, 7 in 2019, 8 in 2020, and 9 as of August this year.

In Malaysia, one in four of the 266 suicides recorded between mid-March last year – when lockdown started – and that October involved teenagers aged between 15 and 18.