We’ve heard many times over the past year about the same problem that Japan, among others, is facing. The country is aging so much that schools are closing and local diaper companies will focus on adult sizes. They’re also offering money to help with the depopulation of areas and the increasing number of empty homes each month. But none of the data that shows the problem is what’s coming out yet.

Die alone. Japan has long grappled with what are known as “lone deaths,” where people living without a support network die and go undetected for long periods. This year, the Japanese government released the first official count of lone deaths in the first six months. The figure: 28,330 elderly.

But as we said, there is something much more terrible that shows the level of loneliness of these people. This data reveals the number of elderly people who died and it took some time to find them, no one “took care of” them. According to the National Police Agency, it took two weeks or more for the authorities to recognize the deaths in 4,913 cases, that is, 17.3%, to understand the situation of the problem of loneliness and isolation that the government is working to address.

The most infamous case. Twenty years ago, a “lonely death” scandal alarmed the public after a case occurred in the country. An elderly man’s home and utilities were automatically deducted from his bank account, and when it eventually ran out, authorities were alerted and began investigating. The man was discovered three years after his death.

Among the current cases, the media has recently republished the case of an elderly woman. She lived in a house and had been lying dead on the floor for more than three weeks. The resident, in her 70s, was discovered when the landlord tried to claim non-payment of rent. She had no family or friends to look after her.

More data. In the first half of 2024, police dealt with a total of 102,965 bodies nationwide, including those left behind by suicides. Of these, 37,227 were people living alone and died at home. People aged 65 and over accounted for 76.1% of cases, while 473 were people aged 20-30 and 71 were unidentified.

In 39.7% of cases, police discovered the death the next day or the day after. The duration was two to three days in 19.8%, four to seven days in 12.5%, eight to 14 days in 8.8%, and at least 15 days in 19.3%. At least 91 days were required in 2.7% of cases.

Perspectives. The government estimates that, on current figures, around 70,000 Japanese will die this year alone, and it’s a crisis that looks set to get worse: Japan has the oldest society in the world, with more than one in ten people over the age of 80.

Loneliness is not new. In fact, a Ministry of Loneliness was established a few years ago after the country saw suicide rates skyrocket in 2020 after several years of decline. In a country where 15% of residents say they have no social contact outside of their families (the highest rate in the OECD), the quarantines and lockdowns of the pandemic have taken their toll on collective mental health. This, combined with low birth rates and rising life expectancy, has created a breeding ground where the elderly are the latest victims.

Moreover, according to research, 15% of elderly men living alone in Japan chat less than once every two weeks, and the same goes for 8.4% of young and middle-aged single men. On a human level, we are talking about the quietest country in the world. There are even elderly people who aim to go to jail to avoid being alone (and poor).

It helps. The ABC reported this week that elderly residents with health problems across Japan may be entitled to varying levels of home care, but that the country’s health services alone claim they can only do anything “up to a certain point” to resolve the dilemma of dying.

They refer to many situations where people sometimes do not know how to ask for help, while others choose to isolate themselves from their families and society in general. That is why associations that combat this problem have been established in the country, such as Zero Lonely Deaths. These are community services where a group of volunteers perform routine checks on elderly residents of the neighborhood. If they see anything suspicious (no electricity consumption, no noise, no one leaving on time…) they contact the authorities and warn them.

In short, Japan faces a demographic challenge of major proportions, and the fact that all these old people are dying alone is a sign of a long road ahead.

Image | Timeless Moon, Kerosene

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