Tokyo:
Japan has appointed its 1st Minister for Loneliness this month soon after the country’s suicide price improved for the 1st time in 11 years in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to The Japan Times, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga added a minister of loneliness to his Cabinet earlier this month, following the instance of the UK, which in 2018 became the 1st nation to generate a comparable function.
Yoshihide Suga tapped minister Tetsushi Sakamoto, who is also in charge of combating the nation’s falling birth price and revitalising regional economies, for the new portfolio.
In his inaugural press conference, Mr Sakamoto stated Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga appointed him to address national matters “including the issue of the increasing women’s suicide rate under the pandemic,” according to CNN.
“(Japan PM) Suga instructed me to examine the issue and put forward a comprehensive strategy, by coordinating with the related ministry… I hope to carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people,” Mr Sakamoto added.
CNN reported that the Japanese government also produced an “isolation/loneliness countermeasures office” inside the cabinet on February 19 for troubles such as suicide and kid poverty — which have risen in the course of the pandemic.
The nation has recorded more than 426,000 COVID-19 instances and 7,577 deaths, according to information from John Hopkins University.