A special department on loneliness under the Japanese government will deal, among other things, with determining the number of lonely residents. For this, a nationwide census will be conducted. This was reported on Tuesday, February 16, by The Sankei News.
It is noted that on the eve of Japan’s Minister for Loneliness and Isolation Tetsushi Sakamoto met with a representative of the Democratic Party Yuichiro Tamaki and said that he would like to conduct an appropriate study.
Sakamoto announced at a press conference on Tuesday that a department for loneliness and isolation will be created under the Japanese government. The department will be organized by the end of this week. It will include 10 employees from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
They will address issues related to the rise in the number of suicides in the country and poverty among children, which are exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Kyodo agency, in 2020, the number of suicides increased for the first time in 11 years in Japan. The growth was 3.7%, 20.9 thousand people committed suicide.
On February 12, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that the post of Minister for Loneliness and Isolation would appear in the country. The head of the department, he appointed the Minister for the restoration of vital activity of the regions Tetsushi Sakamoto, who will have to combine two positions.