JAPAN, Sept 3: A tragic incident in Yokohama has resulted in the deaths of two individuals after a 17-year-old high school student jumped from a shopping center, striking a pedestrian below.

The teenage girl leaped from a building in a bustling shopping district on Saturday evening, landing on a 32-year-old woman who was out with friends. Emergency services responded to the scene around 18:00 local time (09:00 GMT), and both victims were rushed to the hospital. The girl was pronounced dead approximately an hour later, and the woman succumbed to her injuries soon after.

The motives behind the girl's actions remain unclear. Official statistics indicate that September 1st is notably high for youth suicides in Japan, just before the new school term begins. Last year, 513 children in Japan ended their lives, with "school problems" frequently cited as a major contributing factor.

Students who avoid returning to school, known as "futoko," often do so due to family issues, difficulties with friends, or bullying. The Japanese Ministry of Education has previously conducted surveys on these issues, highlighting the challenges faced by students.

In response to these challenges, public awareness campaigns have been launched, such as NHK's “on the night of August 31” campaign on Twitter, aimed at addressing the pressures faced by students during this period.

This recent tragedy in Yokohama echoes a similar incident from 2020 in Osaka, where a 17-year-old boy's jump from a shopping center roof resulted in the death of a 19-year-old female student. The boy was posthumously charged with manslaughter, but the charge was later dropped.

Authorities have yet to provide any indications of culpability in Saturday night’s deaths. Although Japan's overall suicide rate is slowly decreasing, it is rising among the youth, making Japan the only G7 country where suicide remains the leading cause of death for teenagers.