By SHINICHI SEKINE/ Staff Writer
August 28, 2023 at 08:00 JST
Health minister Katsunobu Kato in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district on June 13 (Hayato Murai)
The health ministry's white paper on Health, Labor and Welfare for fiscal 2023 shows an increase in isolation and loneliness due to population decline and the pandemic, driving community outreach initiatives.
The paper was approved by the Cabinet on Aug. 1.
At a news conference after a Cabinet meeting, health minister Katsunobu Kato said that the white paper "has shown in concrete terms that there is a need for efforts to realize a community-focused inclusive society where everyone can live at ease."
The health ministry's paper points out that Japan's total population is expected to decrease to about 87 million in 2070 from about 124.95 million in 2022, heralding an era of a full-scale aging society with a declining population.
Due to the falling birthrate and aging population, the average number of household members is estimated to fall to 2.08 in 2040 from 2.21 in 2020 and from 2.99 in 1990.
Meanwhile, single-person households accounted for 38 percent of all Japanese households in 2020, up from 23.1 percent in 1990.
The white paper argues that people are becoming less and less interconnected in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing that about 70 percent of survey respondents said they had fewer opportunities to communicate.
In its analysis, the paper says that while there are concerns about a decline in mutual support functions of families and communities, issues of loneliness and isolation are most prominent.
It emphasizes that all society members--particularly the elderly and disabled--need assistance to foster new social connections and mutual support.
Under these circumstances, the white paper clearly states that the government will aim to create social connections and mutual support for all members of society through a variety of new channels.
In addition to other measures, the government intends to set up forums where people of all ages and attributes can mingle, provide outreach assistance instead of waiting for calls for help and utilize digital technology to generate new connections and mutual support.
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