Experts warn of 'June syndrome' among children in Japan

For children, the stress from environmental changes after entering new schools or moving up a grade may lead to their refusal to attend lessons.

Experts are calling on people not to miss children's signs of trouble, especially as they get more prone to suffer autonomic imbalance during the rainy season that tends to begin in June.

Much like the better-known May syndrome, or May blues, June syndrome is a general term for mental and physical disorders and is medically classified as adjustment disorder.

Common symptoms include inability to get up in the morning, insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain, dizziness, nausea, malaise and loss of appetite.

According to the education ministry, the number of students who refuse to attend elementary or junior high schools totaled a record 346,482 in the 2023 academic year through March 2024.

Although there are no monthly data on the start of children's refusal to go to school, many say that June syndrome is behind the increase in truancy.

Akira Saito, 55, head of a pediatric clinic in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, and an expert in children's mental health, said that he has an impression that children who refuse to go to school increase in June.

Saito noted the importance of noticing changes in children before symptoms appear, saying, "I hope people take notice of slight changes, such as when children stop talking about school or when they look less energetic than usual."

Regarding what to do when such changes are seen, he emphasized the importance of "waiting for children to start talking about their problems by themselves" while increasing conversation on topics such as hobbies, rather than asking them about their issues directly.

If children continue to act in unusual ways, measures should be taken as soon as possible, including consulting with teachers and school counsellors and visiting medical institutions, he said.