58,000 Elderly people died alone at home in Japan in 2024
The National Police Agency has said that 58,044 elderly people living alone died at home in Japan in 2024, disclosing such a figure on an annual basis for the first time.
The agency surveyed the issue of loneliness and isolation as part of the government’s fact-finding efforts. The government will use the results to consider measures to resolve the problem.
According to the agency’s announcement Friday, out of the 204,184 bodies handled by police nationwide in 2024, 76,020 were those of people living alone who were found at home.
Of the solidarity death cases, people aged 65 or older accounted for about 76 %. Those aged 85 or older formed the largest portion by age group at 14,658 people, followed by 12,567 aged 75 to 79 and 11,600 aged 70 to 74.
Meanwhile, those who died alone at home included 780 people in their 20s, 1,013 in their 30s and 62 aged 15 to 19.
In nearly 40 % of solitary death cases at home, the body was discovered on the day or the next day of the presumed death. The share reached about 70 % for those found within a week.
However, it took more than a month in 6,945 cases, or about 10 % of the total. Those under 65 tended to take longer until the discovery than those 65 or older.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Photo by Yomiuri Shimbun
