Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has appointed Minister of Regional Development Tetsushi Sakamoto concurrently as Minister of Loneliness. The Secretary General of the Cabinet of Ministers Katsunobu Kato announced this at a press conference in Tokyo, reports TASS.
This is the first time the post of minister responsible for the problems of lonely residents has appeared in the Japanese government.
“As for the purpose of this appointment, we are talking about solving social problems that are manifested, among other things, due to the aging of a society with a low birth rate. This also includes the problem of suicide, primarily among women and youth, ”said Kato.
The problems of lonely residents, according to the Secretary General of the Cabinet, have worsened in the country during the pandemic. In 2020, the number of suicides in Japan increased for the first time in 11 years, reaching 20,919. According to experts, during the epidemic, the lack of employment and the increased burden of caring for children and home increases stress levels.
Earlier, fighting loneliness was named the main trend of the year. Telenor's review says that with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of lonely people in the world has increased, and this is fraught with psychological health problems, so appropriate technologies should appear soon.
