一昨日、Coconeriで社会学者の宮本みち子氏による講演「若者の孤立と貧困 〜すべての若者が生きられる未来を〜」に参加。
きっかけは、自死者全体は減少傾向にあるものの、小中高生の自死が前年より14人増の527人と過去最多を記録したことを知ったことである。
Two days ago, I attended a lecture by sociologist Michiko Miyamoto at Coconeri, titled “Youth Isolation and Poverty: Toward a Future Where All Young People Can Thrive.”
The reason I participated was that, while the overall number of suicides has been declining, the number of suicides among elementary, junior high, and high school students reached a record high of 527 last year—14 more than the previous year.
コロナ禍の影響は今なお残っており、体育や歌など学業以外の経験が不足したことで、テストの点数や偏差値が唯一の価値基準となりがちな子どもたちがいる。また、外出制限が長引いた結果、もともと家庭に居づらかった子どもはさらに追い詰められたようだ。
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still linger. Due to a lack of extracurricular experiences such as physical education and singing, many children have come to rely solely on test scores and academic rankings as their primary measure of self-worth. Additionally, prolonged restrictions on going outside further isolated children who already felt uncomfortable at home, pushing them into even more difficult situations.
【社会を支える側・支援する側】が衰退し、少子高齢化社会を支えるべき年齢層が弱体化しつつある。特に、若い女性の自死は近年増加傾向にあり、その主な要因として経済・生活問題が挙げられる。このままでは少子化がさらに深刻化しかねず、早急な対応が求められる。
The supporting and caregiving segments of society are in decline, and the age group that should sustain Japan’s rapidly aging population is weakening. In particular, the suicide rate among young women has been increasing in recent years, with economic and financial difficulties cited as key factors. If this trend continues, the declining birthrate will accelerate, making immediate intervention essential.
先日参加した政治教養講座に続き、今回もスウェーデンの話題が取り上げられた。日本で「自分が国や社会を変えられると思うか」と問うアンケートでは、Yesと答えた子どもはわずか18.3%。一方、スウェーデンでは街頭調査で同じ質問をしたところ、9割の若者が肯定的に回答したという。これは、スウェーデンが「民主主義の重要性を根付かせる教育」を徹底している一方で、日本ではその意識が十分に育まれていないことに由来するのではなかろうか。その結果、日本の子どもたちは自己肯定感を失い、社会に対する主体性を持ちにくくなっているように感じる。
Following the political education seminar I attended recently, the topic of Sweden came up again in this lecture. In a survey conducted in Japan, when asked, “Do you think you can change your country or society?” only 18.3% of children responded yes. In contrast, when young people in Sweden were asked the same question in a street survey, 90% answered affirmatively. This stark difference may stem from Sweden’s strong emphasis on civic education that instills the importance of democracy, whereas Japan lacks such educational efforts. As a result, Japanese children seem to struggle with self-confidence and have difficulty developing a sense of agency in society.