to combat the feeling of loneliness, the government is setting up an administrative network throughout the country

A new law came into force at the beginning of April in Japan. This text should allow the government to better organize its fight against loneliness and isolation. The government emphasizes that this has become a major societal problem. It is therefore urgent to set up an entire administrative network in the territory to help these people who feel increasingly alone.

Japanese public authorities have been alarmed by this problem for years. The country even created a ministry to combat loneliness in 2021. Until now he had drafted several regulations on the subject but now it is a real law because the government says that the situation continues to deteriorate.

The authorities want to deploy an administration dedicated to this problem. A special committee will be created under the authority of the Prime Minister. It will oversee a network of advice in the regions and cities. These councils will have to find a way to better identify people who are suffering from loneliness and then try to offer them consultations. These include, for example, support groups or doctors. There are already trials with the equivalent of free toll-free numbers for people who need to confide. The government has also launched a chatbot, this semi-intelligent messaging system where you can explain, from your computer or your smartphone, your problem and the software then directs you to the right public service which can listen to you and help you.

The feeling of loneliness affects all generations

This problem of loneliness is particularly serious in Japan. The government is all the more worried as the feeling of loneliness continues to increase. It now affects all generations. In the last major study carried out at the end of 2023, with more than 20,000 people aged over 16, 40% of Japanese admitted that they felt alone. A feeling that manifests itself to different degrees. Young adults are not spared, they are the ones who now suffer the most from loneliness. Among people aged between 20 and 40, 45% of Japanese surveyed say they suffer from loneliness. According to experts, the Covid crisis has been very badly experienced by the younger generations who entered into relationships very late in life and who found themselves stuck at home teleworking alone during the pandemic.

This discomfort manifests itself in different ways. The number of suicides in the country particularly worries the authorities. This is of course not always linked to loneliness but it is often a strong element. It increased during the Covid years and is almost no longer decreasing. Nearly 22,000 Japanese killed themselves in 2023. This makes a ratio of more than 17 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. For comparison, in France, this ratio is 13 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants.