Elderly crisis in Japan: Nearly 42,000 bodies left unclaimed in shocking revelation
Elderly resident rests in front of a temple in Tokyo, Japan, accessed on April 6, 2025 (AFP Photo)
Nearly 42,000 bodies went unclaimed in Japan during the 2023 calendar year, amid a rise in the number of elderly people who live alone, according to a government report on Sunday.
The bodies were subsequently cremated or buried by local authorities, according to the first of its kind study, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.
The 41,969 bodies, identified and unidentified, made up 2.7% of deaths in 2023.
The study, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, showed that most municipalities did not have an established protocol for dealing with the bodies, including how long they should be kept before cremation.
It comes amid concerns that relatives may try to claim bodies after they have been cremated.
About 23.3 million out of 52.6 million households, or 44.3%, will be single-person households by 2050, according to forecasts by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
Among municipalities with a system for handling them, Yokosuka, near Tokyo, launched in 2015 a program in which the city assists in contracts between funeral homes and the low-income elderly with no dependents, according to Kyodo News.
