Japan experiences a rise in body abandonment cases: summary

What we know

• Japan is witnessing an increase in arrests of middle-aged individuals for allegedly abandoning the bodies of their elderly parents who passed away in their shared homes.
• The National Police Agency (NPA) reports an increasing number of arrests and investigations for suspected body abandonment among individuals aged 40 and older.
• In 2023, there were 19 individuals in their 40s (compared to an annual average of 14.6 from 2014 to 2023), 52 in their 50s (average of 26.3), 31 in their 60s (average of 18.2), and 24 aged 70 and older (average 12.2) arrested or investigated for suspected body abandonment. Notably, the number of people in their 50s and 60s reached their highest levels since 2014.
• The NPA informed the Mainichi Shimbun that it is "difficult to provide a definitive answer" due to the various factors contributing to the rising trend among those in their 40s and older. However, the Mainichi article database indicates that at least 20 people nationwide were arrested on suspicion of corpse abandonment in 2023.
• Many suspects reportedly told investigators after their arrest that they "didn't know what to do with the body" or "didn't want to talk to other people," indicating an 80-50 problem as a contributing factor. Several of these cases were subsequently dropped by prosecutors.
• Hikikomori, also referred to as severe social withdrawal, involves completely retreating from society and seeking extreme levels of isolation and confinement.

What they said

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that "In Japan, many cases occur where a dead body is found in a house, but the housemate does not immediately report it. This has attracted attention since around 2017 as a typical example of the “80-50 problem,” a problem that occurs in households where older parents care for middle-aged hikikomori. In a 2019 Japanese survey, approximately 0.8% of 40-64-year-olds were middle-aged hikikomori living with their parents, indicating that approximately 300,000 households in Japan comprise older parents and middle-aged hikikomori."