We Can Learn From Japan's ‘Ministry For Loneliness'

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan has added a “Minister for Loneliness” to his cabinet in the wake of a rise in sui-cides for the first time in 11 years. “The number of suicides is on a rising trend. I hope you will identify problems and promote policy measures comprehensively,” the prime minster told his appointee to the new position – Tetsushi Sakamoto.

The number of people committing suicide rose in Japan for the first time in over a decade last year. There had been progress in combating the high suicide rate but the pandemic reversed the trend last year. In 2020, Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare reported 20,019 suicides, compared to only 3,460 deaths from COVID-19 in the same period.

The suicides in 2020 in Japan were due to many causes, foremost of which – 49 percent – were health issues, both mental and physical. Next in the list of causes were financial and poverty-related issues, 17 percent; home and family-related issues, 15 percent; and work-related issues, 4 percent. The pandemic in 2020 must have been an important factor in all of these issues.