KITAKYUSHU, Japan — Once a week, Rena Shinohara heads off to work, clocking in for a shift at a job one could say she was born to do.

Loneliness is such an acute problem that in 2021 the Japanese government appointed its first “minister of loneliness,” charged with helping people of all ages connect especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com