What Japan’s Education Has Lost and Gained After Almost Succeeding in Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 Infection and Guaranteeing Academic Achievement

Abstract

In Japan, the first wave of the Covid19 pandemic began in the spring of 2020 and almost all schools were closed. Thereafter, vaccinations and infection prevention efforts progressed, and most schools did not close entirely after the second wave. Many schools shortened their summer vacations significantly and held classes, the MEXT distributed one information terminal to each elementary and junior high school student, and the MEXT opened the “Children’s Learning Support Website”. As a result, learning delays were almost recovered. On the other hand, the repeated waves of COVID-19, the prolonged wearing of masks, and the lack of normalization of relationships with friends had a significant negative impact on the mental health of junior and senior high school students. The silver lining of COVID-19 was the progress made in ICT in education, which had not been well spread.

Introduction

At the 15th meeting of the Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters on February 27, 2020, the Prime Minister indicated that the government would request the temporary closure of elementary, junior high, and high schools across the country with the aim of preventing the spread of COVID-19 (PMO, 2020). In response to this, the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, Sports, and Culture (MEXT) requested for the mass temporary closure of schools nationwide from March 2 until the commencement of the spring break. As a result, nearly all schools across the country temporarily closed (MEXT, 2020a).

In Japan, the new school year begins in April. At this point in 2020, most school officials assumed that the entrance and commencement ceremonies would be held as planned. On March 24, MEXT issued a statement about the reopening of schools for the new school year and attempted to return to the normal form of operation. They stated that only infected schoolchildren and close contacts should remain home from school (MEXT, 2020b).

However, because of a declaration of a State of Emergency on April 7 in seven prefectures and then for all prefectures nationwide on April 16, most schools across Japan remained closed (PMO, 2020).

Schools gradually reopened after the State of Emergency was lifted in all prefectures on May 25, and as of June 1, 98% of schools were open again. However, this was not a full reopening. Among public schools, only 54% of elementary schools, 56% of junior high schools, and 57% of high schools across Japan fully reopened (MEXT, 2020). Most prefectures began with shortened classes and staggered school attendance, expanding this in stages.

The timeline for reopening differed by region, but in the Tokyo metropolis, some schools took approximately 3 to 4 months to reopen completely. It was not until June 29, 2020, that metropolitan high schools in Tokyo fully reopened. During the three-month period when schools were temporarily closed, children were forced to stay at home for long periods of time. As students were unable to go to school, continued learning via digital means and other methods became required. This led to an increase in stress experienced by children due to the change in lifestyle, as well as an increase in the burden on parents.

Following the first wave of COVID-19 from January to June 2020, there were multiple subsequent waves of infection. However, schools began carrying out infectious disease control and were able to continue operation, rather than mass school closures.

By January 2023, the Japanese government determined that COVID-19 would not be classified as a new influenza or other infectious disease under the Infectious Diseases Control Law after May 2023 and would instead be placed in Category 5 infectious diseases (PMO, 2023). This meant the healthcare delivery system for COVID-19 would transition from special response by limited medical institutions with government involvement on inpatient measures to an autonomous normal response by a wide range of medical institutions. With this announcement, the fight against this new type of coronavirus infection virtually came to an end.

This chapter examines the impact the spread of COVID-19 and the response by schools have had on children’s learning and growth in Japan.

Preventing the Spread

Elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools in Japan generally succeeded in preventing the spread of infection. This was in stark contrast to universities, where there were clusters of outbreaks and the spread of infection fluctuated.

On March 28, 2020, the government determined the Basic Policies for Novel Coronavirus Disease Control, which were revised numerous times through September 2021 (PMOc, 2020). Throughout the pandemic, MEXT distributed questionnaires about the reopening of school and educational activities, provided guidelines for school operations, and a manual regarding hygiene procedures in schools during COVID-19 (MEXT, 2020).

MEXT also developed documents providing health education guidance materials for teachers, a handbook for health education in junior high schools, and a slide deck about the prevention of infectious diseases (MEXT, 2020). Each school used these materials to provide developmentally appropriate guidance for children of varying ages.

Furthermore, the Japan Society of School Health developed a detailed instruction manual in 2013 for personnel involved in school health, titled “An Explanation of Infectious Diseases to be Prevented in Schools.” (Gakkohoken, 2018). At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, they updated the manual and launched a dedicated website with many effective content, including videos.

Due to the protocols and resources distributed, mentioned above, Prefectural Boards of Education and Municipal Boards of Education were able to carry out detailed guidance for schools, and the schools made their best efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 based on the notifications and guidance. For example, the below measures were implemented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG, 2020).

Ensuring Basic Infection Prevention Measures

In June 2020, infection control equipment– such as acrylic boards, alcohol disinfectant, thermography, CO2 measuring devices and circulators– were deployed to all schools in Tokyo. Municipalities utilized national aid and were subsidized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for the purchase costs (TMG, 2020; TMBE, 2020). During the spread of infection, an easy-to-read checklist was created and distributed showing the infection control measures that children and schools should carry out.

Specialists in infectious diseases visited schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area to inspect and evaluate the infection measures, as well as give advice about specific initiatives (MEXT White Paper, 2021, MEXT, 2021).

Before long holidays and an increased risk of infection, pamphlets raising awareness about situations with a heightened risk of infection and a checklist about infection measures that could be done at home were distributed to parents (TMBE, 2020).

Using Tests

In September 2021, a system was established for conducting PCR tests to close contacts when someone tested positive to COVID-19 at school (TMG, 2021). PCR testing was also recommended before and after educational activities involving overnight stays and other activities with limited distancing (PMO, 2021).

In collaboration with the national government, simple antigen test kits were distributed to promptly check the infection risk when children, students, or teachers became unwell at school (MEXT, 2021).

Based on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s intensive implementation plan, a system for qualitative antigen testing was established for teaching staff, public kindergartens, elementary schools, and special support schools with kindergartens or elementary schools (TMG, 2021). In addition, schools which were not covered by the plan– public junior high schools, special support schools without kindergartens or elementary schools, and high schools–had the same testing system established by February 2022 (PMO, 2022).

Vaccination Recommendation

Leaflets were created and distributed to students and their parents to raise awareness about correct information on the COVID-19 vaccination and a summary of large-scale vaccination venues in Tokyo. Teaching staff had priority at the large-scale vaccination venues established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and inoculation was actively promoted (TMG, 2022).

Appropriate Implementation of Class Closures

For the sudden spread of the Omicron variant, a manual was created which summarized the appropriate response for when positive cases were identified and the associated period for school closures or home isolation of close contacts at each school (TMBE, 2022).

Formulation of School BCP (a Plan for the Continuation of Educational Activities)

To enable the continuation of educational activities as much as possible, a BCP plan was formulated at each school to refine the selection of tasks and adapt the division of roles to account for teaching staff unable to attend work. The personnel support system was also reinforced to support the continuation of school operation during the spread of infection.

Teacher nurses played a large role in infection control at schools nationwide. Thanks to their guidance and collaboration with all teaching staff, students received thorough hygiene education and preventive actions were ensured. The preventative actions included maintaining distance from others, wearing masks, hand washing and other hand hygiene, ventilation, and the avoidance of “the three C’s”– closed spaces, especially closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places, and close-contact settings, such as close-range conversations where you can touch the other party if you reach out.

As a result of the above, cluster infections in elementary, junior high and high schools were minimized.

Academic Performance: Overcoming the Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Performance

Ensuring Learning

Due to the mass long-term school closures in the spring of 2020, many students did not receive enough class time. Multiple waves of infection arrived after schools had reopened again, and schools were forced to implement shortened classes and staggered school attendance. As such, it was not possible to ensure the same amount of learning time as before. Due to this, there were concerns about significant declines in the academic performance of children and students. However, these fears of declines in academic performance were overcome because of various response measures.

At the same time as the mass school closures, MEXT announced a learning support content portal website for the duration of the school closure period called the Children Learning Support Website. There was content for early childhood education, elementary school, junior high school, high school, and special support education. Additional content was uploaded and updated over time. Eight hundred fifty types of video content were eventually developed and published for elementary and junior high schools alone (MEXT, 2020).

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) also launched a Future Classroom website so students can keep learning. Future Classroom, STEAM library, and similar private, education-related and education technology companies provided digital content and software for schools and households free of charge (METI, 2020).

MEXT initially estimated that students would have approximately 45 less days of school than regular years because of school closures. They considered recovering 15 days of the delay of learning through a shortened summer vacation and making up the remainder through homework at home and supplementary lessons at school (MEXT, 2020).

In May 2020, MEXT released a statement acknowledging that the learning content set in the curriculum guidelines would be shifted to the curriculum for the following year or the year after. However, they called for the necessary teaching for final year students– such as sixth year elementary students, third year junior high school students, and third year high school students– to be completed by the end of the school year. To adjust for these protocols, there was a proposal to reduce the class time for each period and increase the number of periods in a school day, in addition to having shortened summer and winter breaks and the implementation of Saturday classes (MEXT, 2020).

To maintain academic performance, MEXT announced a Comprehensive Package for Ensuring Children’s Learning (MEXT, 2020). The overview of this package is as follows:

• Focus on learning activities that can only be done at school, such as collaborative learning in the classroom and teaching effectively in the limited class time.

• Carry out learning activities that can be done alone outside of class.

Through cooperation with textbook publishers, post reference materials related to focused learning activities on the Children Learning Support Website

• Enable special measures to shift part of the learning content to the following year or later.

• Urgent development of personnel/material systems 31 billion yen in the second supplementary budget for 2020; 9 billion yen for the budget in 2021)

• Deploy additional teaching staff (3100 people), learning guidance staff (61,200 people) and school support staff (20,600 people) so sixth year elementary students and third year junior high students could learn in small-sized classes.

• Establish school/student support personnel banks to seek assistance from retired teaching staff and university students.

• Support schools with 1 to five million yen per school to use promptly and flexibly for infectious disease control and learning (distributed according to factors such as infection status and school size)

• Establish online learning using information and communication technology (ICT)

• Prioritize deployment of devices and mobile routers, etc., for children, especially for children without an ICT environment at home.

• Enable online learning at schools in regional areas that should be prioritized in preparation for the second wave, with the provision of (online) training or teaching staff through school site support systems nationwide.

• Use long-term evaluation (LTE) telecommunications equipment (mobile routers) and distance learning equipment.

• Begin development without waiting for decisions on the supplementary budget grant for the municipality.

• MEXT collaborates with supply manufacturers and other industry players.

• Experts directly advise municipalities to advance rapid procurement and the commencement of utilization projects for ICT use.

• Develop environments for online learning using ICT for all students, with an emphasis on schoolchildren in regions designated as prefectures under special precautionary measures, schoolchildren in their final years, and for families unable to provide an ICT environment for financial reasons.

• Cover communication costs to support home learning for low-income households through subsidies for schoolchildren needing protection and assistance, special education support, and for high school students.

MEXT secured 231.8 billion yen in the 2019 supplementary budget and 229.2 billion in the 2020 supplementary budget for the integration of hardware, software, and human resources under the GIGA School Program, which calls for the prompt provision of one computer per student and the preparation of communications environments that connect to students’ homes (MEXT, 2020).

Through these government measures, online learning spread rapidly throughout regional areas.

For example, when the nationwide temporary school closures were initially implemented and device procurement and loans in municipalities were underway, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government provided subsidies for routers and other equipment. They promoted the use of loaned school-deployed devices and personal devices. Digital introduction and use were promoted through the assignment of support personnel to enable online learning at both school and home. As measures were required to avoid “the three Cs” in line with the level of infections, a hybrid learning model was implemented, combining staggered and dispersed school attendance and online learning.

As of June, 95% of the 1794 Boards of Education nationwide had scheduled for a shortened summer break. More than 70% of elementary schools had more than 20 days of summer instruction. 19% of the schools added instruction on Saturdays (MEXT, 2020).

The Measures Worked, and the Delay in Academic Achievement Was Virtually Overcome

Despite there already being a lag in academic achievement among low-income families before COVID-19, the academic measures were successful, and the delay due to COVID-19 was virtually overcome.

On March 28, 2022, MEXT announced the results of the Long-term Change Analysis Survey, a survey which examined the changes in academic achievement, targeting sixth year elementary school students and third-year junior high school students (NIER, 2022). Specifically, the survey was based on the nationwide academic performance and a learning status survey conducted by MEXT in June 2021. The survey contained Japanese, arithmetic/mathematics, and English (only third year junior high school students) and used Item Response Theory (IRT) to compare with results from 2016. The target students were comprised of approximately 11,000 elementary school students and approximately 27,000 junior high school students in 2016, and approximately 16,000 elementary school students and approximately 25,000 junior high school students in 2021. There were concerns about the impact of reduced face-to-face classes due to the long-term school closures over three months from March 2020, but the results of the survey MEXT concluded that there was no decline in academic performance on average (NIER, 2022).

Specifically, there was little change observed in the academic score distribution for Japanese among elementary school students compared to 2016. The median score in 2016 was 503.4 and 504.3 in 2021. Excluding outliers, the lowest scores were 192.7 in 2016 and 200.0 in 2021, and the bottom 25% of scores were below 426.1 in 2016 and 428.4 in 2021. This suggests there was no observed impact from COVID-19 on the lower tier of scores (NIER, 2022).

For elementary school arithmetic, the distribution of academic scores in 2021 suggests overall academic scores may have shifted slightly higher than the 2016 academic scores. The median scores for 2016 and 2021 are 501.7 and 508.1, respectively. This can be interpreted to mean that academic performance has increased slightly for Japan as a whole. Excluding outliers, lowest scores were 199.1 in 2016 and 193.8 in 2021 and the bottom 25% of scores were below 425.7 in 2016 and 429.6 in 2021, demonstrating no notable impact of COVID-19 on the lower tier of scores (NIER, 2022).

In terms of Japanese in junior high school, there was little change observed in the academic score distribution compared to 2016no change in academic performance. The median score for 2016 was 503.5 and 510.0 in 2021. Excluding outliers, the lowest scores were 202.4 in 2016 and 208.6 in 2021, and the bottom 25% of scores were below 429.0 in 2016 and 434.6 in 2021. This suggests no significant impact of COVID-19 on the lower tier of scores (NIER, 2022).

For junior high school mathematics, the distribution of academic scores in 2021 moved slightly higher than the 2016 academic scores distribution overall in terms of academic scores. This can be interpreted to mean that academic performance has increased slightly for Japan as a whole; however, it is necessary to analyze it in conjunction with the results from next year onwards. The median score was 500.3 in 2016 and 512.1 in 2021. Excluding outliers, the lowest scores were 202.3 in 2016 and 196.3 in 2021, and the bottom 25% of scores were below 425.6 in 2016 and 431.8 in 2021. These results are in line with the previously presented results (NIER, 2022).

The regional mass temporary school closure period due to the impact of COVID-19 from April 2020 onwards was the longest recorded closure. Schools were closed between 40 to 70 days. According to the 2021 and 2022 academic performance and the learning status surveys conducted in these years, there was no correlation observed between the length of the temporary school closure period and the average percentage of correct answers in each subject.

However, depending on the financial situation of the family and the parents’ employment status, there was variation in the level of enrichment of home learning, and the possibility of a widening gap in terms of academic achievement cannot be completely ruled out. As such, continued careful investigation into the topic is necessary.

Welfare and Financial Situations: The Impact on Working Parents and Poor Families

(NCCHD, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2021a, 2021b, 2021c, 2022a, 2022b, 2023)

The mass school closures impacted single-parent families, dual-income families, and poor families in ways other than education. During this period, it was very difficult for parents who had to go to work as they were unable to look after their children during the daytime. In response to these needs, many schools accepted children who needed somewhere to go during this time.

In addition, some students from poor families were unable to eat a satisfactory number of meals because the school closures meant no school-provided lunch.

During this time, the National Center for Child Health and Development, a national research and development institute under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, established a “Corona x Children’s Headquarters” and conducted online surveys titled “Corona-Codomo Survey,” targeting children and their parents nationwide. The online survey targeted students in their first year of elementary school to those in their third year of high school, as well as parents of children between the ages of zero and their third year of high school. With the aim of identifying the lifestyles and health of children and their parents during the pandemic, the survey was conducted seven times between April 2020 and December 2021 for continued monitoring of the COVID-19 situation for children (NCCHD, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2021a, 2021b, 2021c, 2022a, 2022b, 2023).

The financial burden on families continued even after schools reopened. The below results are from the National Center for Child Health and Development survey.

The proportion of respondents who answered that their family’s current living (economic) situation was ‘somewhat difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ by grade is as follows:

1st	2nda	3rd	4th	5tha	6th	7tha
19%	―	26%	20%	―	21%	―

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the second, fifth, or seventh survey

When asked if they were ‘more distressed now compared to January 2020’, the response ‘more distressed’ was the most common response among all respondents. The proportion of students who selected this answer by grade is shown below.

1st	2nd*	3rda	4th	5th	6tha	7th
24%	―	―	25%	23%	―	23%

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the second, third, or sixth survey

According to page 128 of “Trends in School Health in 2021,” 10.9% of households in Tokyo often struggled to buy staple foods such as rice, and this figure rose significantly to about 20% for meat and fish (Akaishi et al., 2021). Being unable to buy these ingredients, 10% of households indicated that financial hardship had an impact on children’s health and weight loss. Financial hardships increase the risk of depression, which may result in an increase in suicides (Aida, 2021). Between July and October 2020, there were increased reports of female, child, and adolescent suicides in Japan (Tanaka, Okamoto, 2021).

In response to this situation, more than half of the nationwide Kodomo shokudo, or children’s cafeterias, changed their activities to the distribution and delivery of packed lunches and ingredients.

In the supplementary budget for 2020, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare allocated for the support of private entities carrying out initiatives such as delivery for the Kodomo Shokudo (MHLW, 2021). In addition, a survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun in 74 municipalities reported about 30% of local governments were providing a lunch fee for households receiving school assistance due to their children not being able to receive the school lunch anymore (Shinbun, 2020).

A report by the Central Council for Education issued on January 26, 2021, included the following: “As a result of the long-standing 2020 temporary school closure measures, it was reaffirmed that not only do Japanese schools play a role in ensuring learning opportunities and academic achievement, but they also play a role in holistic development and growth, and a welfare role in terms of ensuring physical and mental health as a place to go and a safety net.”

With consideration of the burden on working parents with school-aged children, great efforts were made to avoid mass school closures and to keep schools open while carrying out various infection prevention measures.

Physical Fitness and Sleep

(NCCHD, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2021a, 2021b, 2021c, 2022a, 2022b, 2023)

• 1. About physical health

The National Centre for Child Health and Development measured children’s quality of life in terms of physical health with the Japanese version of KINDLR. The “Norm” was measured in 2014, followed by six surveys during the pandemic.

	Norm	1st	2nd	3rda	4tha	5th	6tha	7th
Lower primary	78.7	84.6	79.3	―	―	78.5	―	80.2
Upper primary	76.2	82.8	75.8	―	―	72	―	78.7
Junior high	65.9	78.9	70.8	―	―	63.1	―	66.5
High school	64.5	73.9	67.9	―	―	60.3	―	67.5

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the third, fourth, or sixth survey

As shown above, the physical health of first to third year elementary school students increased while school was closed as compared to the norm and remained at a high level after that. For fourth to sixth year elementary school students, junior high school students and high school students, although the level increased temporarily during the school closure period, it declined after this, and the level of physical health dropped below the norm during the fifth wave, and then returned above the norm during the seventh wave.

• 2. Children’s lifestyle routine and disrupted sleep

During the mass school closures, there were disruptions in sleep routines for schoolchildren. This has now improved to some extent.

In the first survey conducted by the National Center for Child Health and Development, 60% of children of all school levels responded that their bedtime and waking time had shifted “more than two hours” or “under two hours” compared to before the pandemic. Of this, 26% of high school students and 19% of junior high school students responded that it had shifted “more than two hours,” indicating a significant impact on their lifestyle routines. Changes were also observed in children’s bedtimes. Forty percent of children responded with “It takes time to wake up properly in the morning” and 30% responded with “I sleep at least two hours longer on weekends than weekdays.” Even after schools reopened, many children could not correct their disrupted routine and struggled with chronic sleep deprivation.

In a survey conducted by the National Center for Child Health and Development after schools had reopened and COVID-19 infections had dropped, most students responded that “there [was] little change” in their routine compared to before the pandemic. This suggests that the shift in routine has been reduced to approximately one hour.

• 3. Lack of physical exercise and a decrease in physical strength due to increased screen time

As a result of the spread of COVID-19 infections, there was a decrease in children playing outside and an increase in screen time at home. This led to a decrease in children’s physical strength.

In the National Center for Child Health and Development’s first survey, over 70% of children and their parents responded that they exercised less than before the pandemic. During the mass school closures in the spring of 2020, over half of children spent their days rarely going outside, exercising, or playing.

Screen time spent watching TV, on smartphones, and playing electronic games also increased. Regardless of their child’s age, over 80% of parents reported an increase in screen time. Moreover, 51% of parents of high school students and 50% of parents of junior high school students reported more than four hours of use per day.

By the third survey, collective responses about screen time having increased by more than an hour compared to before the pandemic were 85% of lower-level elementary school students, 80% for the upper grades of elementary school, 73% for junior high school, and 74% for high school. However, the percentage of those who responded with screen time of more than four hours per day was less than reported in the first survey. Responses were 9% for lower-level elementary school, 16% for the upper grades of elementary school, 22% for junior high school, and 28% for high school.

Every year, MEXT carries out a nationwide survey on physical strength, exercise capacity, and exercise habits at national public and private schools. The survey recorded approximately 1.03 million responses for elementary students and 980,000 for junior high school students. It was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. In the 2019 survey before the pandemic, there was a declining trend for physical strength, and in the 2021 survey, the total score for physical strength had declined even more for both males and females. In addition to the decrease in time spent exercising; an increase in screen time outside of learning; and an increase in obese schoolchildren– which were pointed in the 2019 survey as main factors for the decline– it was suggested that the results were spurred on by a decrease in time spent exercising at home and an increase in screen time due to COVID-19.There was also a decrease in initiatives for improving physical strength outside of physical education classes due to restrictions on activities in schools.

About Mental Health

(NCCHD, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2021a, b, c, 2022a, b, 2023)

Reduction and Cancelation of Special Activities and School Trips

Special activities such as sports festivals, group camps, and club activities are a defining characteristic of education in Japan. However, maintaining academic achievement was given priority, and these special activities were reduced or shortened. There are concerns that this will lead to future occurrences of social and development issues.

In Japanese schools, it is common for students to go on school trips in their graduating year of elementary school, junior high school, and high school. MEXT requested that Boards of Education reconsider implementing these trips if they had been canceled or postponed due to the educational and emotional significance they hold.

Decline in Mental Health

One of the biggest issues was the decline in mental health. Stress accumulated because of the mass school closures, and results suggest that the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic was complex and significantly affected the mental health of older students.

Several institutions have investigated the impact of the mass school closures on student mental health. On May 20, 2020, the Japan Pediatric Society reported: “Not only did the school closures deprive children of learning opportunities, but coupled with a decrease in outdoor activities and social interaction, children were falling into depressive tendencies; furthermore, due to the restrictions on work and going out, both children and their parents were being kept at home, which was feared to increase the risk of family violence or child abuse from increased stress. The Japan Pediatric Society concluded that, for children, it was expected that the health damage occurring in relation to COVID-19 would be greater than the direct impact of COVID-19 itself.”

The Center for Birth Cohort Studies (CBCS) at the University of Yamanashi conducted an online survey from April to May 2020, targeting 1200 children between ages 3 and 14. About 70% of children reported struggling with some type of problem. Many children over the age of 13 had problems with sleep physical problems, or psychological problems.

The survey conducted by the NPO After School in April 2020 reported that 82% of parents and 64% of children were experiencing stress due to the closures. The most common reasons for parents’ stress were “balancing both work and looking after [their] children,” and followed by “[worrying] about [their] child’s study” and “an increased burden of household chores.” For children, the most common reasons were, “I want to see my friends and my teacher” and “I’m lonely because I can’t play with my friends as much.”

In an emergency survey conducted in March 2020 by the NPO Florence, the number one concern for parents during school closures was their child not getting enough exercise. Following this response was concern about their child’s stress and mental care and learning delays.

After schools reopened, MEXT issued a statement with student guidance after the resumption of educational activities. The key items of the notification are as follows.

• Suicide prevention for schoolchildren

  • (1) Initiatives for early detection at schools

  • (2) Promotion of parents watching over children at home

  • (3) Strengthening of internet patrols

• School absences in schoolchildren

• Child abuse

• Discrimination and prejudice against schoolchildren

In addition to the conventional measures, the checklist of infection control measures in schools compiled and issued by MEXT in August 2021 included new items for the mental care of schoolchildren, infection control and mental health measures for teaching staff, and prevention of discrimination and prejudice.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, MEXT had already focused on the issue of mental health in children and students. A health center usage survey was conducted every five years since 1990.In the 2016 survey, the most common reasons for schoolchildren visiting the health center were “mainly mental-related problems,” “mainly physical problems” and “mainly family/living environment problems”. In addition, the main contributing factors were “relationships with friends,” “basic lifestyle habits,” “anxiety and worries that manifest as physical symptoms,” and “relationships with family.” About the mental health issues addressed by the school nurse, “developmental disability problems” and “relationship problems with friends” were most common in elementary school, respectively. In junior high school and high school, the most common issues were “relationship problems with friends” and “developmental disability problems,” respectively.

The surveys by the National Center for Child Health and Development repeatedly asked about the mental state of respondents.

Some results from the children were as follows:

• I feel worse when I think about COVID-19.

• I get frustrated easily.

• I’ve been struggling to concentrate recently.

• Even if I’m with someone, I feel like I’m all alone.

• I have trouble falling sleep and I wake up multiple times in the night.

• Sometimes I harm my body or act violently toward my family or pets.

One result from a parents was as follows:

• They get frustrated easily, have emotional outbursts even if it’s not something to get angry about, and they have fierce temper tantrums.

Through the seventh survey, over 70% of the children who responded reported at least some stress reaction. This trend has not improved much.

The proportion of children with some stress reaction.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4tha	5th	6th	7th
Children	75%	72%	73%	―	76%	70%	71%

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the fourth survey

In addition, children’s quality of life was measured in areas such as physical health, mental health, and self-esteem through the Japanese version of the KINDLR scale. It uses 2014 data as the standard.

In the first survey, “physical health” ranked higher than in the standard data, demonstrating good results in general. “Self-esteem” and “relationship with family” also ranked equivalent to or higher than the standard data.

In contrast, “mental health” was lower than the standard data in all year levels, which suggested that children’s mental health was declining.

The results were as follows:

	Norm	1st	2nd	3rd	4tha	5th	6tha	7th
Lower primary	78.3	75	77	78.5	―	77.7	―	75.9
Upper primary	79.9	73.4	74.1	77.1	―	73.8	―	76.4
Junior high	76.3	69.7	72.1	70.5	―	66.1	―	68
High school	73.3	67	65.9	67.8	―	62.8	―	63.6

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the fourth or sixth survey

In terms of mental health, there were varying characteristics for the shift in each school level group. The impact of COVID-19 on one’s mental health was greater among older students, indicating the possibility of its complexity and persistence.

Lower-level elementary school students, on average, showed no significant decline in mental health from the standard value. The decline directly after the school closure due to COVID-19 was not very large, and it had generally recovered by the second survey when schools had reopened. For the third survey, it recovered to slightly above the standard value. It remained at this level for the fifth survey, but dropped slightly in the seventh survey, when there was another wave of infection.

For upper-level elementary school students, there was some decline from the standard value due to COVID-19, and the recovery after schools reopened was slower than in the lower-level students. During the third survey after the summer break, it had virtually recovered to nearly the same level as the standard data. Following this, the level dropped slightly as the wave of infections continued.

For junior high school students, the impact of COVID-19 was significant. Although the level improved after schools reopened, it did not reach the standard value and worsened after the summer break. In the fifth survey, it declined further due to the prolonged COVID-19 infections. The slump continued, and the problem did not seem to improve by the seventh survey.

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health was significant for high school students as well. After schools reopened, the level dropped lower than during the school closures, and the situation did not improve after the summer break. Moreover, in the fifth survey, it continued to worsen due to the prolonged COVID-19 infections, and it remained low in the seventh survey.

After the fourth survey, a survey about symptoms of depression was circulated. For students in their fourth year of elementary school to their third year of high school, a survey was conducted using the depressive symptom severity scaled Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents (=PHQ-A)–. It was reported that there was a high percentage of children with depressive symptoms, and that there was a negative impact on the mental health of older children. It was revealed that even during the seventh survey, the condition had not improved in junior high school or high school students.

The results for the proportion of children with suspected moderate or higher levels of depression are as follows.

	4th	5th	6tha	7th
Upper primary school students	15%	15%	―	10%
Secondary school students	24%	24%	―	22%
High school students	30%	30%	―	23%

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the sixth survey

In response to the question, “I have actually hurt my own body before (such as pulling out hair or hitting oneself)” in the seventh survey, 14% of fourth to sixth year elementary school students, 12% of junior high school students and 25% of high school students responded with “a few days,” “more than half” or “nearly every day.”

For the question, “I have thought about using violence against my family, pets or friends (hitting or kicking, etc.),” 9% of fourth to sixth year elementary school students, 15% of junior high school students and 8% of high school students responded with “a few days,” “more than half” or “nearly every day.”

For the question, “I have actually used violence against my family, pets or friends (hitting or kicking, etc.),” 8% of fourth to sixth year elementary school students, 9% of junior high school students and 3% of high school students responded with “a few days” or “nearly every day.”

Furthermore, the National Center for Child Health and Development summarized the findings into the “Report on the Actual Conditions of Adolescent Children and their Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic” on March 23, 2022 (revised on June 15).

According to the report, 9% of fifth- and sixth-year elementary school students and 13% of junior high school students who responded by post had moderate or severe depressive symptoms. For the online responses, 13% of fifth- and sixth-year elementary school students, 12% of first and second year junior high school students and 42% of third year junior high school students had moderate or severe depressive symptoms.

The results of these surveys show that, although MEXT has strong awareness of the issue and is raising attention to it, the mental health of schoolchildren is not improving and continues to be a serious condition.

Increase in Eating Disorders

The research group for the Japan Society for Eating Disorders conducted a survey from May to July 2022 targeting medical institutions involved in specialist treatment for eating disorders nationwide. They received responses from 28 facilities. According to these responses, there were 400 first-visit outpatients with anorexia nervosa in 2019, but this increased 1.2 times to 480 people in 2020 and 1.5 times to 610 people in 2021. In particular, 199 of those outpatients in 2019 were in their teens, a number which grew about 1.5 times to 296 people in 2020 and 1.7 times to 347 people in 2021. Just over 30% of outpatients in 2019 and 2020 appear to be related to COVID-19. The group suggests that changes in students’ lifestyles such as school closures and the worsening of their families’ economic situations caused stress, which may have led to their illness. Dr. Takeshi Inoue from Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center, which was one of the medical institutions surveyed, comments that “one contributing factor may be that [patients] had less chances to interact with other people, which led to a decrease in opportunities for relieving stress. It is important to listen to what they have to say and emphasize with them.”

Increase in Suicides by Young People

Since 2009, the number of suicides reported by the National Police Agency had been on a downward trend. However, following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sudden increase in suicides by young people, especially women. The number of people who committed suicide increased by 4.5% from 2019 to 2020. The number of suicides in men is high, but in contrast to the downward trend for men, the number continues to increase in women. Moreover, the number of suicides increased for students overall. There was an increase from 888 students in 2019 to 1039 students in 2020. In an analysis conducted by the Study Group on the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women of the Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, there was a large increase in suicides among high school students, with an increase of 14 male high school students and 59 female high school students compared to the previous year. These figures are shown in the table below (NPA, 2022).

		2019	2020	2021
Total
	Total reports	20,169	21,081	21,007
Gender
	Male	14,078	14,055	13,939
	Female	6091	7026	7068
Age
	Ages 13–18	659	777	749
	Ages 20–29	2117	2521	2611

The Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology indicates that the suicide rate increased among children and adolescents under the age of 19 in the second wave. Suicides in young people also increased 49% in the second wave (TMIGG, 2021).

Despite this issue, no effective measures have been taken.

Increase in School Absences

The 2020 and 2021 “Survey on Problematic Behavior, Chronic School Absences and Other Issues Relating to Student Guidance and Counseling” highlighted the prolonged increase in absences among elementary and junior high students. The number of prolonged absences from 2019 to 2021 increased by over 60,000 students. The percentage of student absences has nearly doubled since 2010. Further, the number of elementary and junior high school students who were absent for at least 30 days to avoid COVID-19 infection increased by almost 40,000 from 2020 to 2021 (MEXT, 2022).

Furthermore, prolonged absences for reasons other than COVID-19 grew from 0.27% to 0.55%. Some speculate that many of these absences are due to school refusal by parents. In this case, it can be estimated that about 1.17% of all students had prolonged absences due to COVID-19 in 2021 (MEXT, 2022).

In the third survey by the National Center for Child Health and Development, in response to the question to children of “have you felt that you did not want to go to school in the past week?” the percentage that responded “always,” “usually,” or sometimes” was as follows:

	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
Children overall	30%	―	―	38%	―

For the question to parents of “has your child seemed like they didn’t want to go to school within the past week?” the responses were as follows:

	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
Parents	21%	―	―	10%	―

From this, it can be inferred that COVID-19 was related to the increase in the number of absences from school.

COVID-19 had a large impact on student absences. The challenge to increase attendance rates is complex and finding a solution is not easy. However, measures were taken to increase the number of participants in class, such as having students join classes online from their home.

COVID-19-Related Discrimination and Bullying

A social pathology of COVID-19 discrimination and COVID-19 bullying emerged in Japanese society. There were successive cases of children of nurses and hospitals workers being rejected at their schools. The illness created anxiety, which led to discrimination and furthered the spread of the illness. In the second National Center for Child Health and Development survey, 32% responded that they would want to keep COVID-19 diagnoses in their family a secret 22% responded that they would not want to play with someone who has had COVID-19, even if they have recovered (MEXT, 2022).

The Mental Health of Parents

(NCCHD, 2020a, b, c, 2021a, b, c, 2022a, b, 2023)

The Deterioration of the Mental Health of Parents

The Center for Birth Cohort Studies conducted an online survey in 2020 with 1200 children between the ages of 3 and 14. The results indicated that just under 30% of parents had severe psychological distress and that just over 20% had moderate psychological distress. More than double the number of parents had psychological distress compared to a similar survey conducted in 2016.

According to surveys by the National Centre for Child Health and Development, the severity of mental health strain on parents with junior high school students was as follows:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4tha	5th	6th	7th
Moderate	32%	29%	32%	―	30%	29%	35%
High degree	13%	15%	13%	―	17%	11%	10%
Extremely high	12%	12%	17%	―	16%	12%	14%

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the fourth survey

Parents with children aged 3 to 5 were most likely to feel extremely high psychological strain, followed by those with elementary- and junior high school-aged children. In another survey, 28% of parents with children in junior high school had moderate to severe depressive symptoms.

From the above, the mental health problem of parents since the start of the pandemic has had little or no improvement and continues to persist.

Worsening of the Parent-Child Relationship at Home

There was an increase in the number of parents who lost their jobs and fell into financial distress because of COVID-19. In addition, children and parents were spending increased time cooped up in a small house together during the daytime. Consequently, there was an increased build-up of stress for many parents.

The proportion of parents who reported that they “emotionally lashed out” at their children were as follows:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
Parents overall	49%	―	49%	64%	48%	―	―
Parents of lower primary	60%	70%	62%	77%	59%	―	―

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the 2nd (parents overall), sixth, or seventh survey

An Increase in Child Abuse

As parents and children spent longer periods of time together because of the mass school closures, the risk of child abuse also increased. In comparison to the same month of the previous year, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare reported an 11% increase of child abuse in February 2020, 18% in March, and 9% in April. Although May had a decrease of 1% in reports, June saw a 12% increase. The rates then fluctuated through January 2023.

During the school closure period, there was also an increase in the number of notifications by the police to child consultation centers. According to crime statistics published by the police, between January and December 2020, the number of notifications made by the police for suspected child abuse was 106,960 children, an increase of 8.9% from the previous year. Psychological abuse accounted for 73.3% of the overall reasons for notification.

In Tokyo, there were 811 notifications from police in March 2020, an increase of 258 compared to the previous year. Police reported 825 notifications in April, which was an increase of 261 from 2019. Other prefectures reported similar trends.

The Silver Linings of COVID-19

Despite the many challenges, there were some aspects that improved because of COVID-19. For example, dramatic improvements in the education and learning environment because of ICT, as well as some improvements in humanity and human relationships.

Enhancement of the Education and Learning Infrastructure with ICT

In poor households and single-parent households, 30% did not possess any ICT equipment before COVID-19. Most public schools in Japan in 2020 had a high percentage of students lacking an adequate home environment for online classes distributed paper materials or had students and children use local television, rather than implementing online education. However, some municipal schools such as Saga Prefecture, Shibuya Ward in Tokyo, Tsukuba City in Ibaraki Prefecture and Kumamoto City completed the deployment of one ICT device per person and were able to implement online education. Nevertheless, most public schools across the country were not able to carry out online education.

In response to such a situation, over 480 billion yen were invested in the Global and Innovation Gateway for All (GIGA) school program as subsidies from the government (MEXT, 2020). By the end of March 2021, all elementary and junior high schools distributed one information device per student. At the same time, high-speed, large-capacity communication networks were installed in schools. This was a bright spot as developing an ICT education environment was a major issue in public schools in Japan before the pandemic.

In terms of learning content, MEXT announced a learning support content portal website– the Children Learning Support Website– for the duration of the temporary school closure period in March 2020. This website now has over 850 educational videos on it (MEXT, 2020).

METI also launched a Future Classroom website so that learning never stops. Combined with the Steam library and other private education-related companies, including Edtech companies, digital content and software was provided for schools and households free of charge. Group learning support tools and learning drills were also provided by private EdTech companies to support students and teachers (METI, 2020).

Moreover, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) developed and released teaching materials corresponding to each unit in the curriculum guidelines in “NHK for School.”

As of January 2022, 95.2% of public elementary and junior high schools reported complete preparation of take-home learning devices for times of emergency, and of these, 72.4% of schools stated that they would loan out routers and other equipment as an alternative means for students who do not have a telecommunications environment at home. Although there is a growing gap in the ability to utilize ICT among teachers and schools, 83.3% of elementary schools and 80.7% of junior high schools were using ICT in 2022 (NIER, 2022).

This digitalization of education made it possible to carry out class in a hybrid format, with some students going to school and others staying at home. As a result of this, school attendance was staggered, and the Three Cs defined above could be avoided, enabling schools to remain open. In addition, the learning efficiency in class was enhanced, and the home learning environment was improved. The introduction of ICT in education contributed to ensuring learning for all students.

How many times have you used ICT equipment such as PCs and tablets? (Elementary School) (NIER, 2019, 2021, 2022).

How many times have you used ICT equipment such as PCs and tablets? (Junior High School) (NIER, 2019, 2021, 2022).

Improvement in Self-Esteem and Self-Affirmation in Children and Students

Although there was an increase in fears related to mental health due to COVID-19, there was an increase in self-affirmation among elementary, junior high, and high school students. In an online survey conducted by the National Center for Child Health and Development, children’s quality of learning was measured for self-esteem using the Japanese version of the KINDLR scale.

The results are as follows:

	Norm	1st	2nd	3rd	4tha	5th	6tha	7th
Lower primary	61.3	62.4	69.4	65.6	―	67.4	―	69.8
Upper primary	49	55.9	62	57.2	―	55.8	―	61.7
Secondary school	35.4	48.4	51.1	43.9	―	44	―	50.1
High school	31.3	41.3	47.3	42.1	―	42.6	―	46.1

1. ^aNote: There was no response for the fourth or sixth survey

There was an improvement in self-esteem compared to the 2014 standard value was observed in students in the upper levels of elementary school, junior high school, and high school. This trend has continued since the reopening of schools.

Improvement in Prosocial Traits in Children

In September 2019 (before the pandemic), a team from Tokyo Metropolitan University led by Professor Yusuke Moriguchi conducted an online survey targeting 420 parents with children between the ages of 4 and 9. This survey collected responses on the five topics of hyperactivity in children, emotional problems, behavior problems, peer relationship problems and prosocial behavior. After the declaration of a State of Emergency, moderate differences were observed in peer relationship problems and prosocial behavior, particularly for prosocial behavior. There were little differences in hyperactivity, emotional problems, and behavior problems. Under the State of Emergency, there was an increase in prosocial behavior. This suggests a possibility of children being more kind to others in the circumstances of the pandemic. The same survey was conducted in October 2020 with the trend continuing.

Improvement in Parent-Child Relationships

In a survey by the National Center for Child Health and Development, the relationship between children and their families was similar or better than before the pandemic.

For children’s responses in the first survey, more than three-quarters reported feeling at ease when they were with their parents. Half responded that their parents explained everything in an easy-to-understand manner, and nearly half of the respondents said that their parents understand their feelings and they can talk to them about anything. There was a higher rate of elementary school students responding positively to the survey than junior high or high school students, which indicates that positive interactions and relationships with parents are more often recognized in younger children.

In the third survey, more than 60% of students responded that their parents explain the reason for changes in school routine (class, homework, events, etc.) in an easy-to-understand way at least some of the time.

In contrast to this, about 86% of parents from elementary and middle school students reported that they tried to explain the current situation with COVID-19 in a way that their child would understand at least some of the time. This number was 74% for high school students. Additionally, most parents responded that they created opportunities to empathize with their child without denying their feelings. About 65% of parents responded that they tried to discuss COVID-19 and school closures with their child as a family, and many parents reported trying to praise their child by focusing on what they are doing their best with or what they can do now instead of the results. Except for the parents who were involved in child abuse or similar behavior, the survey data suggests that, overall, a high proportion of parents are positively interacting with their children by empathizing with their feelings.

Summary

During the COVID-19 pandemic, academic. Achievement for children and students was successfully maintained through various efforts, such as hard work by teachers on site and the utilization of ICT equipment. Many families have seen improved or stable parent-child relationships. However, the reality is that there was an increase in the number of parents who had major issues with their mental health because of their worsening economic situation. There was also a worsening of some parent-child relationships and an increase in reports of child abuse. The mental health of children was also significantly negatively impacted. Many children struggled with stress, and there was an increase in school absences and suicides among students. The educational field has continued to face difficulties in relation to these problems, and there does not appear to be any immediate benefit from increased budgets or notifications from MEXT.