Kodoku Ha Shakai Mondai Kodoku Taisaku Senshin Koku United Kingdom No Torikumi (Kobunsha Shinsho)

[Machine Translation] In January 2008, then Prime Minister Theresa May created the world's first "Minister for Loneliness" on the grounds that "loneliness is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. According to the British Academy of Family Physicians, loneliness is worse for the health than obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and lonely people are 1.5 times more likely to die before reaching the end of their natural life than those who are socially connected. What is happening now in British society, which is still in turmoil after leaving the European Union (EU)? From the establishment of the Minister for Loneliness, to the compassion for the vulnerable that has taken root in society, to the careful attention of charitable organizations, to the role of the British Royal Family, this is a report from the field by a journalist who has been observing British society for a long time.

二〇一八年一月、テリーザ・メイ首相(当時)は「孤独は現代の公衆衛生上、最も大きな課題の一つ」として世界初の「孤独担当大臣」を設けた。英国家庭医学会によると、孤独は肥満や一日十五本の喫煙以上に体に悪く、孤独な人は、社会的なつながりを持つ人に比べ、天寿を全うせずに亡くなる割合が一・五倍に上がるという。欧州連合(EU)離脱後も混乱が続くイギリス社会で、いま何が起きているのか。孤独担当相の設立経緯から、社会に根付く弱者への思いやり、チャリティー団体の細やかな目配り、そして英王室の役割まで、イギリス社会を見続けてきたジャーナリストによる、現地からの報告。