Nearly 40,000 People died Alone in their Homes in Japan during the first half of 2024

According to the BBC, Japan’s National Police Agency stated that about 40,000 people died alone in their homes during the first half of 2024.

According to the report, over 4,000 of the deceased were not discovered until more than a month after their deaths, while 130 went unnoticed for an entire year.

The police agency’s report highlights the growing issue of isolation among Japan’s elderly population, despite the country having the “world’s oldest population” (BBC).

Aging Population: How Japan’s Oldest Citizens Are Affected by Isolation

According to the report, 37,227 people who lived alone were discovered dead at home, with those 65 and older accounting for more than 70% of these cases.

Furthermore, approximately 40% of those who died alone at home were recovered within a day, whereas nearly 3,939 bodies were discovered more than a month later.

Furthermore, 130 deaths went undiscovered for more than a year before being discovered.

The dataset’s largest group, accounting for 7,498 of the bodies identified, was 85-year-olds and above, followed by 75-79-year-olds (5,920). People aged 70 to 74 accounted for 5,635 of the bodies discovered.

The Japanese National Institute of Population and Social Security Research predicted earlier this year that by 2050, Japan will have 10.8 million elderly people living alone and 23.3 million single-person families.

The East Asian country’s ageing crisis has resulted in loneliness and isolation, causing the government to create a bill to address these issues.

Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that Japan’s dropping birth rate may imperil societal functioning.

Furthermore, other bordering nations are experiencing similar population issues.

In 2022, China’s population decreased for the first time since 1961, while South Korea has consistently reported the world’s lowest fertility rate.