Much like in the US, there is much research done in the realm of student mental health, but not many national policies in place to prevent and aid mental health problems students face. Japanese students face considerable academic pressure as imposed by society and school systems. In 2006, Japanese police gathered notes left from students who had committed suicide that year and noted overarching school pressures as the primary source of their problems.[22] Additionally, the dynamic of collective thinking—the centripetal force of Japan's society, wherein individual identity is sacrificed for the functioning benefit of a greater collective—results in the stigmatization of uniqueness.