Press Conferences

Foreign Press Secretary KITAMURA Toshihiro: At the outset, I have one announcement on consular affairs and the protection of Japanese nationals, concerning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)’s measures to address loneliness and isolation.

Japanese nationals overseas are generally vulnerable to loneliness and isolation because they are in an environment different from that of Japan. In order to provide attentive, tailored support to Japanese nationals overseas, since fiscal year 2024, MOFA has commissioned a domestic nonprofit organization (NPO) to provide a “loneliness and isolation consultation service” for Japanese nationals overseas. A 24/7, 365-days-a-year consultation service in Japanese is available for Japanese nationals overseas who seek consultations regarding loneliness and isolation.

The report from the NPO that implemented the service in fiscal year 2025 has now been completed. We have distributed copies to you and the report is also available on MOFA’s Overseas Safety website. For details, please refer to the report, but I would like to highlight four key findings at this opportunity. First, the average monthly number of consultations was more than 300. Second, in terms of region, the largest share of consultations came from North America, followed by Europe. Third, in terms of age group, those in their 20s and younger accounted for a large share of consultations. Fourth, in terms of gender, women accounted for a larger share across all age groups.

The report also indicates that more than half of those who used this service harbored either “a vague sense of not wanting to be alive,” or “thoughts of taking their own life.” In light of these findings, MOFA considers it necessary to provide even more tailored support to Japanese nationals overseas. We intend to continue to raise awareness of this service widely. To this end, we have newly made a flyer listing the support organizations involved in the service. We hope that more people staying abroad will become aware of this service, and we would appreciate it if members of the media could cover this widely.

MOFA will continue to provide attentive support to address the issue of loneliness and isolation experienced by Japanese nationals overseas.