FALSE: Photo does not show the drought situation in Embolioi, Kajiado County, in October 2022
Admin Japan has appointed a “Minister of Loneliness” In a bid to reduce loneliness and social isolation among its residents.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, earlier this month, appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as the Minister of Loneliness to tackle the rising suicide rates for the first time in 11 years.
“Women are suffering from isolation more than men and the number of suicides is on a rising trend,” Suga said while announcing the new role, according to the Japan Time.
According to the Tribune, During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with people more socially isolated than ever, Japan saw a rise in suicides for the first time in 11 years.
In October, more people died from suicide than had died from COVID-19 in Japan in all of 2020. There were 2,153 suicide deaths that month and 1,765 total virus deaths up to the end of October 2020, per the Japanese National Police Agency, the Insider further reported.
Studies show that loneliness has been linked to a higher risk of health issues like heart disease, dementia, and eating disorders.
Japan’s new Loneliness Minister also said that he planned to hold an emergency forum in late February to hear concerns from people dealing with loneliness and isolation.
Sakamoto is already a minister in charge of dealing with Japan’s declining birthrate and promoting regional revitalization, and will now also oversee government policies to deal with loneliness and isolation.
The United Kingdom was the first country to appoint a loneliness minister in 2018, after a 2017 report found that more than nine million people in the UK said they often or always felt lonely. But the role seems to not be a particularly desirable one, as the UK has gone through three loneliness ministers in three years.
Australia has also considered creating a similar position.
BY Shadrack Andenga Odinga
Source: The tribune
