Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Council for the Promotion of Measures for Loneliness and Isolation on Dec. 28, with Seiko Noda, state minister of loneliness, on his right. (Koichi Ueda)

People in their 30s feel the most lonely and isolated of all age groups in Japan, while those in their 70s are the least likely to feel that way, a government survey showed.

Respondents who tended to feel lonely also included temporary workers, unemployed people and those with annual household incomes of less than 1 million yen ($8,000), according to the survey results released on April 8.

Many, including those in their 20s and 30s, said they have no one to consult with, live alone, are unmarried or are in ill health.

Asked how frequently they felt all alone, 4.5 percent of all respondents said they often or always do, while 14.5 percent said sometimes and 17.4 percent said from time to time.

Many respondents said they felt alone after losing a family member or being bullied or harassed.

In addition, 67.6 percent of respondents said they have fewer opportunities to communicate face-to-face with others during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, 38.9 percent of respondents said they rarely feel lonely and 23.7 percent said they never feel that way.

The survey was conducted in December and January on 20,000 randomly selected people 16 years old or older across the country. The response rate was 59.3 percent.

In February 2021, the government established a state minister in charge of countering loneliness and isolation in society.

The survey was the first by the government to study the backgrounds and other factors behind loneliness in Japan.

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