This is sad but not remotely shocking. Japan overall is a very lonely society based around distractions, whether that's the bright lights, work, pachinko, mobile games, whatever it may be. So many already replace friends with pretend people such as anime characters. The commoness of people who have huge pillows representing their favourite character that for them is a bedtime friend, that they talk to is far too common.

This isn't made easier for those who do have family and friends. They have minimal physical connections day to day due to societal rules that are arbitrarily restrictive and based in long should have been abandoned historical expectations.