Name: Japan has appointed a 'Minister of Loneliness' after seeing suicide rates in the country increase for the first time in 11 years
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Japan has appointed a 'Minister of Loneliness' after seeing suicide rates in the country increase for the first time in 11 years

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Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowOver 3 million people read ; you should too!Something is loading.in an attempt to reduce loneliness and social isolation among its residents as the country deals with rising suicide rates, Tomohiro Osaki reported for the Japan Times.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto, who is already a minister in charge of dealing with and promoting regional revitalization, to oversee government policies to deal with loneliness and isolation, earlier this month. Prime Minister Suga when he was elected in September 2020."Women are suffering from isolation more (than men are), and the number of suicides is on a rising trend," on a February 12 news conference announcing the new role, according to the Japan Times. "I hope you will identify problems and promote policy measures comprehensively."Loneliness has long been an issue in Japan, often discussed alongside&nbsp; or people who live in extreme social isolation. People have worked to create far-ranging solutions to this issue: Engineers in Japan previously designed a robot to and one man charges people to .During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with people more socially isolated than ever, for the first time in 11 years.In October, 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 (After a surge in new cases starting in December, Japan has now recorded &nbsp;as of February 22.) Studies show that loneliness has been linked to a higher risk of health issues like Women in Japan, in particular, have contributed to the uptick in suicides. In October, — a 70% increase compared to the same month in 2019.&nbsp;More and more , but many of them don't have stable employment, Michiko Ueda, a Japanese professor who studies suicide in Japan, told the BBC last week."A lot of women are not married anymore," Ueda said. "They have to support their own lives and they don't have permanent jobs. So, when something happens, of course, they are hit very, very hard."Japan's new loneliness minister said that he plans to hold an emergency forum in late February to hear concerns from people dealing with loneliness and isolation."I hope to carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people," Sakamoto said at the February 12 news conference.The United Kingdom was the &nbsp;in 2018, after a 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 Australia has .If you or someone you know is experiencing depression or has had thoughts of harming themself or taking their own life, get help. (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in prevention and crisis situations. Help is also available through the — just text "HOME" to 741741.Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know.Subscribe to push notificationsAn icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.Keep readingTwo crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowOver 3 million people read ; you should too!Something is loading.in an attempt to reduce loneliness and social isolation among its residents as the country deals with rising suicide rates, Tomohiro Osaki reported for the Japan Times.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto, who is already a minister in charge of dealing with and promoting regional revitalization, to...

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Katie Warren

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Japan has appointed a 'Minister of Loneliness' after seeing suicide rates in the country increase for the first time in 11 years

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