Experts Warn of “June Syndrome” among Children in Japan

From Jiji

June 9 2025

TOKYO – Experts warn about so-called June syndrome, or mental and physical distress due to accumulating fatigue over the two months since the beginning of April, when many people start new jobs or schools 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.