Amid spike in suicide cases, Japan appoints 'loneliness minister'
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Tokyo, Feb 24: Amid the spike in suicide cases across Japan, the country has appointed its first 'Minister for Loneliness' after the suicide rates in Japan has increased for the first time in 11 years in the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga added a minister of loneliness to his Cabinet earlier this month, following the example of the UK which became the first country in the world to create a similar position in the country in 2018.
Tetsushi Sakamoto, who is in charge of combating Japan’s falling birth rate and revitalizing regional economies, was appointed as the Loneliness minister. In his inaugural press conference, Sakamoto said 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 reports.
"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," Sakamoto added.
Japanese government has also created an "isolation or loneliness countermeasures office" on February 19within its cabinet for the issues like suicide and child poverty which have increased amid the ongoing pandemic.
Suicide is considered a major social issue in Japan. In the year 2017, the country had witnessed the seventh highest suicide rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The suicide rates had increased by 34.7% during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The rates were at peak in 2003 after that, the rates have been decreasing.
The rates were at its lowest in the year 2019. However, the monthly suicide rates in Japan increased by 16% in between July and October 2020 because of COVID-19. Among the total cases, seventy percent of suicides are male. Suicide has become the leading cause of death for man in the age group of 2- years to 44 years.