自殺是日本的主要社會問題之一。自從新冠疫情暴發(fā)后，日本女性自殺率開始飆升，學齡兒童的自殺人數也創(chuàng)下了40多年來的新高，與此同時曠課學生數量也居高不下。

Child suicides in Japan are the highest they have been in more than four decades, local media have reported, citing the country's education ministry.

日本當地媒體援引本國文部科學省的數據稱，日本兒童自殺人數創(chuàng)下四十多年來的新高。

As the COVID-19 pandemic prompted school closings and disrupted classrooms last year, 415 children from elementary to high school age were recorded as having taken their own lives, according to the education ministry's survey.

文部科學省的一項調查顯示，去年以來新冠疫情迫使學校關閉，學生無法正常上課，據報告在此期間有415名中小學生自殺。

The number is up by nearly 100 from last year, the highest since record-keeping began in 1974, the Asahi newspaper reported on Thursday.

據《朝日新聞》10月14日報道，兒童自殺人數達到了自1974年有記錄以來的最高峰，相比去年增加了近100人。

Suicide has a long history in Japan as a way of avoiding perceived shame or dishonour, and its suicide rate has long topped the Group of Seven nations, but a national effort brought numbers down by roughly 40 percent over 15 years, including 10 straight years of decline from 2009.

作為一種避免羞辱的方式，自殺在日本的歷史由來已久，日本的自殺率在七國集團中長年居首。但是在舉國努力下，過去15年日本自殺率已經下降了約40%，2009年以來更是十年連降。

注：七國集團是一個由世界七大發(fā)達國家經濟體組成的國際組織，目前成員為美國、加拿大、英國、法國、德國、意大利及日本。

Amid the pandemic, suicides increased in 2020 after a decade of declines, with the number of women committing suicide surging amid the emotional and financial stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic, although fewer men took their own lives.

疫情暴發(fā)后，日本的自殺率從2020年又開始上升。在新冠疫情導致的情感和經濟壓力下，女性自殺人數大增，但是男性自殺人數有所下降。

The education ministry said a record high of more than 196,127 school children were absent for 30 days or more, media reported.

據媒體報道，文部科學省稱，逾19萬6127名學齡兒童已經曠課30天（含30天）以上，曠課人數創(chuàng)歷史新高。

The results showed that changes in school and household environments due to the pandemic have had a huge impact on children's behaviour, NHK quoted an education ministry official as saying.

日本廣播協(xié)會援引一名文部科學省官員的話稱，調查結果顯示，疫情導致的學校和家庭環(huán)境的改變對兒童行為產生了很大影響。

英文來源：路透社

翻譯&編輯：丹妮