The suicide rate in Japan has risen to an alarming level

In the context of the number of suicides increasing for the first time in more than a decade during the application of measures to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, Japan has embarked on an investigation and action against loneliness.

The Japan Times newspaper on February 21 quoted Japanese police statistics as saying that 20,919 people took their own lives in 2020, an increase of 750 cases compared to the previous year and the first increase in 11 years. Among them, the suicide rate among women and young people increased significantly.

The government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has recently stepped up to deal with loneliness.

Prime Minister Suga last month added to his cabinet the position of lonely minister, following in the footsteps of Britain being the first country in the world to create it. Mr. Tetsushi Sakamoto, who was previously in charge of dealing with population decline and revitalizing the local economy, was appointed to the position.

In appointing Mr. Sakamoto, Mr. Suga asked him to come up with "comprehensive" policies against loneliness.

According to Suga, it's not just women who feel lonely and prone to suicide but people from all walks of life, including the elderly who are stuck at home and university students unable to attend classes in person. , feel increasingly isolated during the COVID-19 outbreak.

"There are so many types of loneliness" that need to be addressed, he said.

Last weekend, the Japanese Cabinet Office set up a special task force to, through various ministries, investigate the impact of loneliness and related issues. Earlier, many senior politicians of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party also discussed the growing loneliness of people during the pandemic and formed a group to investigate this issue.

The suicide rate in Japan has risen to an alarming level

One of the groups at high risk of suicide in Japan is middle-aged men and the elderly. According to a 2015 survey by the Japanese government, those who feel the most lonely are the elderly over 60 with 16.1% saying they don't know who to turn to when they need help.

Meanwhile, nearly 17% of men in the country "rarely or never spend time with friends, colleagues or other social groups". This is partly explained by the Japanese working culture with long working hours.

Single people, expected to make up 40% of households in Japan by 2040, also face the risk of loneliness because most of them have little contact with their neighbors.

According to a report by British health insurance company Cigna, loneliness has an impact on human health equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even more dangerous than obesity.

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