Japan PM appoints ‘ Loneliness’ minister to cabinet

Japan has appointed its first Minister for Loneliness this month after the country’ s suicide rate increased for the first time in 11 years during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to The Japan Times, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga added a minister of loneliness to his Cabinet earlier this month, following the example of the UK, which in 2018 became the first country to create a similar role. Suga tapped minister Tetsushi Sakamoto, who is simultaneously in charge of combating the nation’s falling birth rate and revitalizing regional economies, for the new portfolio.