The Japanese government's measures to deal with loneliness and isolation issues have been attracting attention from overseas media, with the minister in charge of these issues receiving multiple requests for interviews.
Since late March, Tetsushi Sakamoto, minister for promoting dynamic engagement of all citizens, has been interviewed by a Russian newspaper and a Spanish newspaper. He was set to be interviewed by a South Korean media organization on Tuesday, with a U.S. media organization to interview him on April 27.
The establishment of a cabinet-level ministerial post to tackle loneliness and isolation issues came in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which deprived many people of their ordinary social interactions. Japan is only the second nation to establish such a post, after Britain did so in 2018.
The apparent reasons behind the foreign media interest include not only the novelty of such a step but also the emergence of similar issues of loneliness and isolation in countries whose infection situations are worse than Japan's.
Sakamoto said foreign journalists in the recent interviews have asked him about worsening problems, such as a surge in the number of suicides among women and children during the coronavirus crisis.
In May, the government plans to compile comprehensive measures against loneliness and isolation issues through united efforts in the public and private sectors. It intends to internationally share information on how it deals with the issues.
"We want to send messages on the issues abroad so that Japan's case would be an example for the world," Sakamoto said.
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