Overview
- MEXT’s FY2024 survey counted 7,087 public school teachers on mental-illness leave, equal to 0.77% of staff and down 32 from the prior year, while the combined total including month‑plus sick leave reached a record 13,310.
- Recurrent leave increased, with 1,283 teachers taking leave again within a year of returning, accounting for 18.1% of cases, up 2.4 percentage points.
- Teachers with less than two years at their current school made up 46.5% of leave-takers, and 897 first‑year hires quit, 35.8% citing mental illness.
- Leading cited factors were student guidance and teaching duties (26.5%), workplace relationships (23.2%), and administrative tasks (12.7%); long hours were named in 0.5%, though MEXT says reducing excessive hours remains necessary.
- Local responses include Okinawa’s online consultations and FY2025 “Teacher Mental Health Days” and Chiba City’s expert check‑ins for new hires, but uptake, staffing expertise and budgets differ widely across regions.