Estimated 42,000 Bodies Unclaimed in Japan in FY 2023

Tokyo, March 28 (Jiji Press)--An estimated 41,969 bodies in Japan were unclaimed in fiscal 2023, accounting for 2.7 pct of total deaths in 2023, a recent welfare ministry survey showed.

The graveyards and burials law and other regulations stipulate that if no claimant is found, the municipal government of the place of death will cremate the body.

Japan has no uniform standards for handling unclaimed bodies, however, and local governments are struggling to deal with such bodies.

The survey on how municipalities across the country handle unclaimed bodies and remains, the first of its kind, found that only 11.3 pct of local governments had a manual for managing unclaimed bodies and remains.

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