A group of families in Japan who lost their school-age children to suicide has called on the government to create an independent process to probe the cause of such deaths. The goal they say is to put an end to further tragedies of this kind.

The group held a news conference on Monday after submitting petitions to the Children and Families Agency and the education ministry. The families argue that the schools failed to provide adequate guidance before their children took their lives.

They said yearly government surveys always conclude that the causes of about 60 percent of the schoolchild suicides were unknown. They said the probe into causes must be improved.

They urged the government to shed light on the causes by gathering information from many sources.

The group also called for creating a system that allows for third-party inquiries into such deaths to ensure the swiftness, neutrality, objectivity and transparency of investigations. The group says this would help to prevent recurrences.

A record 514 schoolchildren in Japan took their own lives last year. The government is discussing preventive measures at meetings of relevant ministries and agencies.

A man said his 13-year-old son killed himself six years ago after receiving harsh counseling at school. He said no organizations initially offered to investigate the case despite the possibility that someone had driven his son into a corner. He stressed the need to reform the system.

A woman said when her 16-year-old younger brother took his own life 10 years ago, she thought the adults would take action, but they didn't. She called for in-depth probes into such cases to protect the lives of children.

A 24-hour counseling service for children is available at 0120-0-78310.