Japan appoints Minister of Solitude in the face of suicides in pandemic

Recovered from coronavirus: if you die, you die alone (2020) 0:49

(CNN) -

Japan appointed its Prime Minister for Loneliness this month after the country's suicide rate rose for the first time in 11 years during the covid-19 pandemic.

Tetsushi Sakamoto took over the newly created position on February 12.

At his inaugural press conference, Sakamoto said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga appointed him to address national issues "including the issue of the rising suicide rate of women under the pandemic."

(Photo by Carl Court / Getty Images)

"Suga instructed me to examine the issue and present a comprehensive strategy, coordinating with the related ministry," added Sakamoto.

"I hope to carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people."

• Dying alone and without a funeral, a pain left by the coronavirus

The Japanese government also created an "isolation / loneliness countermeasures office" within the cabinet on February 19 for issues such as suicide and child poverty, which have increased during the pandemic.

Japan has so far recorded more than 426,000 COVID-19 cases and 7,577 deaths, according to data from John Hopkins University.

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So far it has administered more than 5,000 doses of vaccines.

Loneliness