Akira Fujita leads a clean-up crew for Next, a company specializing in scouring and disinfecting the former living spaces of individuals who die alone and whose bodies are left to decompose. While all nations have some portion of their populations die in isolation, Japan is experiencing this phenomenon at incredible levels. Part of this trend stems from aging demographics. More than 25% of the population of the island nation is currently over the age of 65. This figure is expected to increase to 40% by 2050. A dramatic shift in family dynamics is also a likely contributor. A short time ago, it was common for Japanese households to contain three generations of family members. Now, younger adults are remaining single and couples are having fewer children, if any. Masaki Ichinose, working at the Center for Life and Death Studies at the University of Tokyo, notes that the “general concept of family in Japan has fallen apart. The overall number of people who are alone is growing, so it’s inevitable that the number of people dying without anyone’s support is also growing.” Next is one of numerous firms that have popped up in response to this ever-increasing need for cleanup after “lonely deaths”.
See Anna Fifield, Cleaning up After the Dead, The Washington Post, January 24, 2018.
Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
