Over 37,000 Solitary Individuals Died in Their Homes in Japan in First Half of 2024

(Patria) - More than 37,000 people died alone in their homes in Japan in the first half of 2024, according to a report by the Japanese police, BBC reports.

Of this number, nearly 4,000 bodies were discovered more than a month after death, and for 130 people, death was not determined for a year, the National Police Agency announced.

Japan currently has the oldest population in the world, according to United Nations data.

The agency hopes this report will shed light on the growing problem of a large number of elderly people in the country living and dying alone.

Police data for the first half of this year shows that a total of 37,227 solitary individuals were found dead in their homes, of which people aged 65 and over constituted more than 70 percent of that number.

While approximately 40 percent of people who died alone at home were found within one day, according to the police report, 3,939 of them were discovered more than a month after death, and 130 people were found only after a year.

Nearly 7,500 found were aged 85 and over, which is the largest age group, followed by those aged 75 to 79, of whom 5,920 were found. There were 5,635 people aged between 70 and 74.

According to Japanese public television NHK, the police agency will forward its data to a government group investigating cases of unnoticed deaths.

Earlier this year, the Japanese National Institute of Population and Social Security Research stated that the number of elderly citizens (65 years and over) living alone would reach 10.8 million by 2050.

The total number of single-person households is expected to rise to 23.3 million in the same year.

Japan currently has just over 125 million inhabitants.

In April, the Japanese government introduced a bill addressing the long-standing problem of loneliness and isolation, partly caused by the country's aging population.

Japan has long been trying to solve the problem of its aging population. Some neighboring countries are facing similar demographic challenges.