In February, Japan appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as the country’s first Minister of Loneliness to address the issue of isolation for the growing number of the population who live alone.

Loneliness has been a long-standing issue in Japan. Half a million people in the country live a solitary(独身的) life. They are known as hikikomori – “those who withdraw from all social contact and often don’t leave their houses for years at a time”, according to the BBC.

“In Japanese strict social norms(行为规范), high expectations from parents and a culture of shame make Japanese society a fertile ground for feelings of inadequacy.” Takahiro Kato, who studies and treats hikikomori, told the BBC.

But the pandemic has only worsened the effects of this lifestyle. According to figures released by the National Police Agency, in 2020 Japan saw a rise in suicides for the first time in 11 years. A total of 20,919 people took their own lives, 750 more than the previous year. The majority of them were single women and students.

Before the pandemic(疫情), most people who live alone had a fairly normal routine: a full day of work, dining with friends afterward, then going home. But the pandemic forced them to stay indoors, reducing the few chances they had to socialize.

Sakamoto hopes to deal with the issue of increased feelings of isolation. At a news conference on Feb 12, he said that he hopes to “carry out activities to prevent social loneliness and isolation and to protect ties between people”.

After all, just as UK poet John Donne wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”

The Million Pound Bank Note

Act I, Scene 4

(Outside a restaurant Henry looks at the envelope without opening it and decides to go in. He sits down at a table next to the front window.)

OWNER:   (seeing Henry's poor appearance) That one's reserved. This way, please. (to the waiter) Take this gentleman's order, Horace.

HENRY:     (after sitting down and putting the letter on the table) I'd like some ham and eggs and a nice big steak. Make it extra thick. I'd also like a cup of coffee and a pineapple   dessert.

WAITER:   Right, sir. I'm afraid it'll cost a large amount of money.

HENRY:    I understand. And I'll have a large glass of beer.

WAITER:   OK. (The waiter leaves and soon returns with all the food.)

HOSTESS:  My goodness! Why, look at him. He eats like a wolf.

OWNER:   We'll see if he's clever as a wolf, eh?

HENRY:   (having just finished every bit of food) Ah, waiter. (waiter returns) Same thing again, please. Oh, and another beer.

WAITER:   Again? Everything?

HENRY:    Yes, that's right. (sees the look on the waiter's face) Anything wrong?

WAITER:   No, not at all. (to the owner) He's asked for more of the same.

OWNER:   Well, it is well-known that Americans like to eat a lot. Well, we'll have to take a chance. Go ahead and let him have it.

WAITER:   (reading the bill after the meal) All right. That's two orders of ham and eggs, two extra thick steaks, two large glasses of beer, two cups of coffee and two desserts.

HENRY:    (looking at the clock on the wall) Would you mind waiting just a few minutes?

WAITER:   (in a rude manner) What's there to wait for?

OWNER:   All right, Horace. I'll take care of this.

HENRY:    (to owner) That was a wonderful meal. It's amazing how much pleasure you get out of title simple things in life, especially if you can't have them for a while.

OWNER:   Yes, very interesting. Now perhaps, sir, if you pay your bill I can help the other customers.

HENRY:    (looking at the clock on the wall again) Well, I see it's two o'clock. (he opens the envelope and holds a million pound bank note in his hands. Henry is surprised but the owner and waiter are shocked) I'm very sorry. But ... I ... I don't have anything smaller.

OWNER:   (still shocked and nervous) Well .. er ... just one moment. Maggie, look! (the hostess screams, the other customers look at her and she puts a hand to her mouth) Do you think it's genuine?

HOSTESS:  Oh, dear, I don't know. I simply don't know.

OWNER:   Well, I did hear that the Bank of England had issued two notes in this amount ... Anyway, I don't think it can be a fake. People would pay too much attention to a bank note of this amount. No thief would want that to happen.

HOSTESS: But he's in rags!

OWNER:   Perhaps he's a very strange, rich man. (as if he has discovered something for the first time) Why, yes! That must be it!

HOSTESS: (hits her husband's arm) And you put him in the back of the restaurant! Go and see him at once.

OWNER:   (to Henry) I'm so sorry, sir, so sorry, but I cannot change this bank note.

HENRY:    But it's all I have on me.

OWNER:   Oh, please, don't worry, sir. Doesn't matter at all. We're so very glad that you even entered our little eating place. Indeed, sir, I hope you'll come here whenever you like.

HENRY:    Well, that's very kind of you.

OWNER:   Kind, sir? No, it's kind of you. You must come whenever you want and have whatever you like. Just having you sit here is a great honour! As for the bill, sir, please forget it.

HENRY:    Forget it? Well ... thank you very much. That's very nice of you.

OWNER:   Oh, it's for us to thank you, sir and I do, sir, from the bottom of my heart. (The owner, hostess and waiter all bow as Henry leaves.)