Back-to-school blues for Japanese kids

Celebrities are reaching out to at-risk schoolchildren who battle many fears ranging from schoolyard bullies to doing poorly in exams. — AFP

With the start of the new school year and the emphasis on academic success, stress levels and suicides are high among young people in the Land of the Rising Sun, during this period.

AS Japan’s schools reopened earlier this month after the summer holidays, a time when suicides among young people spike, celebrities reached out to at-risk children and one Tokyo zoo offered refuge to nervous pupils in a bid to tackle the mental health crisis.