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%.
I agree with you actually, death is an inevitability and we’re obsessed with pretending it’s not.
However from a civilization standpoint, maybe we can come up with some sort of alternative than letting folks pass away alone and not be found for weeks. Allowing people to choose the time and manner of their deaths is a start–who wants to painfully die from a metastatic liver tumor?