The Ministry Of Solitude In The Government Of Japan
In an attempt to address mental health issues in Japan, the government created the Ministry of Loneliness. To this end, he recently appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as the responsible minister.
Japan welcomed the creation of this Ministry of Solitude which aims to change the situation of many isolated people. A phenomenon that became even more widespread during the period when the pandemic forced the maintenance of safety distances. It is a response to the disturbing figures of suicide and social withdrawal.
Many health professionals have welcomed the move, as Japan sees deteriorating mental health among the elderly, working women, part-time workers and the unemployed.
The Ministry of Solitude: a response to the rise in suicides
The pandemic has intensified the phenomenon. Japanese society has suffered for years the consequences of the lack of links between the members of its society. As a result of the pandemic, thousands of people have been removed from their normal work environment. Japanese social contacts have been further reduced.
The students are afraid and anxious. Many have lost their part-time jobs and are unable to pay for their education in a highly competitive society. Workers in the entertainment and hospitality industries also suffer from declining incomes, as do women, who tend to have lower-paying jobs in the service sector.
Women have been particularly affected by the current situation
Of particular concern is the increasing number of suicides among women. Many of them have been removed from their interaction environments and often have a heavier workload at home, or they have to look after elderly parents. Single mothers are even more affected, as the availability of grandparents to care for their grandchildren has been drastically reduced.
Loneliness, a problem for years
In 2010, Japan reported 31,600 suicides, a number that had fallen to 20,169 in 2019. The alarming increase in suicides, especially among women, has been attributed to the current situation.
The prevalence of mental health problems was already very high before the pandemic, but job losses, social distancing protocols and other restrictions virtually incompatible with social interactions have made it even more difficult to fight despair.
The UK was the first country to appoint a loneliness minister in 2018. This came after a 2017 report found more than nine million people often or always feel lonely. The UK has already seen three ministers of loneliness in three years.
Why are there so many mental health issues in Japan?
Japan is a collectivist society. The importance of the service that a Japanese renders to his country is combined with great individual competitiveness. For the Japanese, educating themselves, prospering and striving for an advanced society is a common ideal.
Hence incredible civic values such as respect for work shifts, the persecution of corruption, the cleanliness of public spaces, the extreme care of plants and gardens, etc. All this ideal would be positive if work did not occupy such a central place.
The consequences of the pressure
Responsibility and pressure have marked the mental health of many young people. They have delayed forming a family or ending relationships. Most young people prefer to choose their professional career and deprive themselves of anything that could “distract” them.
On the other hand, other young people, exhausted and overwhelmed by social pressure, “withdrew from the competition”, and in doing so, they also withdrew from their own lives. They also shut down the rest of the areas of their lives. They choose to live in their parents’ house forever, isolated in their room, which they never leave at all.
Even more serious: the intense working hours leave very little room for social relations. The Japanese, already introverted, are almost running out of options.
The Ministry of Solitude: a collective journey that has just begun
Sakamoto intends to bring together different specialists to draw up a list of priorities. He hopes to promote activities that avoid loneliness and social isolation and protect the bonds between people. The measures also include regional revitalization, as well as tackling the falling birth rate in Japan.
There is coordination between the newly created Ministry of Solitude and the Ministry of Health in suicide prevention and with the Ministry of Agriculture in food banks. The idea is to work holistically and take a series of urgent measures. Will the Ministry of Solitude be able to respond to the expectations that have been placed in it?
It is not known what the results will be, but fighting depression involves fighting poverty, isolation, the stigma of mental illness and the delegitimization of a person’s worth associated with their work. Only a group response can solve a collective problem that manifests itself in different ways in individuals.
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