Japanese Prime Minister Appoints ‘Minister Of Loneliness’ To Combat Rise In Suicide

Posted 13 days ago

From WWW.DAILYWIRE.COM

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has appointed a “minister of loneliness” to his Cabinet in order to combat the rise of suicide that has taken place in the country due to the pandemic. Earlier this month, Suga reportedly chose Tetsushi Sakamoto to take on the role in addition to his work “combating the nation’s falling birth rate and revitalizing regional economies,” The Japan Times reported.

With isolation connected to lots of social difficulties including suicide, poverty and hikikomori (social recluses), the Cabinet Office also reportedly established a task force that will address the problem of loneliness across different ministries, including by looking into its impact.

The move comes as new numbers were released by Japan’s National Police Agency that showed 20,919 people in Japan committed suicide in 2020. This is an increase from the previous year, making it the “first year-on-year increase in 11 years.” The rise is reportedly largely due to a significant increase in suicides among women and young people.

Suga told Sakamoto at a meeting when he tapped him that “Women are suffering from isolation more (than men are), and the number of suicides is on a rising trend. I hope you will identify problems and promote policy measures comprehensively.”

At a news conference after the meeting, Sakamoto said, “I hope to carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people.”

The Prime Minister told the Lower House Budget Committee earlier this month that people from all walks of life, including older people who are at home and university students who cannot attend classes in person, are feeling more and more isolated in the era of COVID-19.

In taking this step, Japan follows the example... (Read more)

Japanese Prime Minister Appoints ‘Minister Of Loneliness’ To Combat Rise In Suicide

From WWW.DAILYWIRE.COM

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