Almost 40,000 people died alone in their homes in Japan during the first half of 2024, a report by the country’s police shows.
Of that number, nearly 4,000 people were discovered more than a month after they died, and 130 bodies went unmissed for a year before they were found, according to the National Police Agency.
Japan currently has the world’s oldest population, according to the United Nations.
The agency hopes its report will shed light on the country’s growing issue of vast numbers of its aging population who live, and die, alone.
Taken from the first half of 2024, the National Police Agency data shows that a total of 37,227 people living alone were found dead at home, with those aged 65 and over accounting for more than 70%.
Having lived there for almost 10 years, most of it as a “local”, they also have a very real problem of foreigners coming there and destroying apartments or racking up debt and just leaving.
There’s more going on obviously, like the xenophobia you mention, and just straight up racism, and probably other things. So it’s a little more than just a cultural problem but that is a decent chunk of it.
How’s that different from any other country, though?
It’s not, but you only pointed out xenophobia as the cause.
I’m opening the door a little and pointing out that it’s much bigger than just xenophobia that’s all.