Japan’s universities deploy special toilet paper

Universities in Japan are printing messages of support on toilet paper to address the rise in student suicides.

Transcript

00:00Faced with the rise in student suicides, universities in Japan have deployed toilet

00:04paper featuring messages of support. The messages, which were written by a mental

00:08health specialist, said things like, you don't need to tell us everything,

00:11but how about just a little of it? In addition to the messages,

00:14soothing images were also printed on the rolls, including a cat and a woman holding an umbrella.

00:19They also feature phone numbers students can call for help. Nearly 6,000 rolls have been

00:23distributed to 12 universities in Yamanashi Prefecture. A local official touted the

00:27initiative in a recent interview, saying, quote, You're alone in the toilet. We felt

00:31like it's at moments like this when you might be more prone to thoughts of anguish.

00:34In the past 10 years, the number of suicides among schoolchildren and students has risen in Japan.

00:39In 2012, there were reported 195. In 2021, there were 368.