TOKYO: (Bernama-Kyodo) Approximately 42,000 bodies went unclaimed in Japan in fiscal 2023 and were subsequently cremated or buried by local authorities, a recent government estimate showed, amid a rise in elderly people who live alone without family support, Kyodo News Agency reported.
The first study of its kind, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, also showed that most municipalities did not have an established protocol for dealing with the bodies, including how long they should be kept before cremation.
