Japan: The Surprising Appointment of a Minister of Loneliness

Source: OMF USA, August 7, 2021

February 12, 2021, the media announced the surprise appointment of Tetsushi Sakamoto to fill a newly created cabinet position in response to recent troubling trends. In an attempt to reduce widespread loneliness, social isolation, and increased suicide rates accelerated by the restrictions of COVID-19, Mr. Sakamoto now serves as the official Minister of Loneliness.

Loneliness had already been identified as a growing problem among the Japanese populace in previous years, but the serious measures recently taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 only served to hasten this harmful trend.

For the first time in eleven years, there has been a rise in the number of suicides in Japan after several years of decline due to various public campaigns. In fact, in 2020 in Japan, more people died from suicide in one month than the total number of deaths associated with COVID-19 in the whole country.

Loneliness has been linked to other serious health issues such as heart disease, eating disorders, and mental illness. Women and the elderly have been particularly affected by recent job losses and the implementation of social limitations. The prolonged depression of the Japanese economy and an alarming but steady decline in birthrate is symptomatic of related social dysfunctions that seem to be eating away at the heart of the country.

While innovative government initiatives to reverse this destructive trend of loneliness are commendable, a sustainable and truly effective solution to such a deep-rooted problem lies well beyond the authority and power of political leaders.

From the very beginning of time, when God created man in His own image as a relational being, He declared that “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).

Read the full story.

Also from OMF, read an article from an Australian missionary to Japan on Lonely Missionaries: Why and What Can We Do About It.

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