👶 November Is SIDS Prevention Month in Japan

❓ What is happening?

Japan's Children and Families Agency has designated November 1–30, 2026 as SIDS Prevention Month, running nationwide awareness activities with posters and leaflets. SIDS is a disease of unknown cause in which an infant with no prior signs of serious illness dies during sleep; it is distinguished from accidents such as suffocation. Because cases tend to increase from December onward, the agency concentrates its message in the month just before winter — a campaign it has repeated every year since fiscal 1999. In 2025, 62 infants died of SIDS, making it the fourth-leading cause of death in infancy. The annual figure has fallen sharply from 526 in 1996, but has not reached zero. No proven prevention method exists, yet data show the rate is lower when caregivers follow four points: (1) place babies on their backs to sleep until age one, (2) breastfeed where feasible, (3) stop smoking, and (4) avoid overheating. This year the agency also asked the 96 member organizations of the Sukoyaka Oyako 21 headquarters to help spread the message, and asked medical institutions to follow the second edition of the SIDS diagnostic guideline so that SIDS is properly distinguished from abuse or suffocation.

👥 Who is affected?

• ●All caregivers raising a baby under one year old in Japan, including foreign households
• ●Pregnant people and the family members living with them (secondhand smoke during pregnancy is a risk factor after birth)
• ●Grandparents, babysitters, and childcare staff who look after infants
• ●Medical institutions that examine infant deaths (asked to use the second edition of the diagnostic guideline)

🌏 Impact on foreign residents

Customs for putting babies to sleep differ by country, and many families have routinely used tummy sleeping or shared futons back home. Japanese authorities advise back sleeping until age one unless tummy sleeping has been recommended for medical reasons, so if this differs from what you are used to, check with your municipal health center or at an infant health checkup. Overheating is another easy-to-miss risk: Japanese homes in winter combine heating with layered clothing. Touch your baby's chest; if it is sweaty, adjust clothing or room temperature. If anyone in your household smokes indoors or in the car, quitting matters — including during pregnancy. Concerns about feeding or sleep can be raised at the health center of the municipality that issued your Maternal and Child Health Handbook. Interpretation and multilingual materials vary by municipality, so ask in advance whether foreign-language support is available.