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Kodokushi

January 01, 1970

Kodokushi (孤独死) or lonely death is a Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time.[1] First described in the 1980s,[1] kodokushi has become an increasing problem in Japan, attributed to economic troubles and Japan's increasingly elderly population.[1][2] It is also known as koritsushi (孤立死) – "isolation death", and dokkyoshi (独居死) – "live alone death".

History edit

Kodokushi was first documented in Japanese newspapers during the 1970s, and studies exploring the phenomenon began as early as 1973, with surveys conducted by the National Social Welfare Council and National Union of Voluntary District Welfare Commissioners.[3] The first instance that became national news in Japan was in 2000 when the corpse of a 69-year-old man was discovered three years after his death; his monthly rent and utilities had been withdrawn automatically from his bank account and only after his savings were depleted was his skeleton discovered at his home. The body had been consumed by maggots and beetles.[4]

Statistics edit

Statistics regarding kodokushi are often incomplete or inaccurate.[1][5] Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that 32,000 elderly people nationwide died alone in 2009.[6] The number of kodokushi tripled between 1983 and 1994, with 1,049 lonely deaths reported in Tokyo in 1994.[7] In 2008, there were more than 2,200 reported lonely deaths in Tokyo.[1] Similar numbers were reported in 2011.[8] One private moving company in Osaka reported that 20 percent of the moving company's jobs (300 per year) involved removing the belongings of people who had died lonely deaths.[1] Approximately 4.5% of funerals in 2006 involved instances of kodokushi.[9]

Kodokushi mostly affects men who are 50 or older.[1]

Causes edit

Several reasons for the increase in kodokushi have been proposed. One proposed reason is increased social isolation. A decreasing proportion of elderly Japanese people are living in multi-generational housing and are instead living alone.[7] Elderly people who live alone are more likely to lack social contacts with family and neighbors, and are therefore more likely to die alone and remain undiscovered.[7]

Additionally, the economic slump in Japan since 1990 has been cited as contributing to the increase in lonely deaths.[1] Since 1990, many Japanese businessmen have been forced into early retirement.[1] Many of these men have never married and become socially isolated when removed from the corporate culture.[1]

Masaki Ichinose, head of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Death and Life Studies, hypothesizes that the increase in kodokushi is linked to Japan's contemporary culture which ignores death.[1] Several hundred years ago, Japanese people commonly confronted death; for example, bodies were typically buried by family members.[1] In contrast, in modern Japan, there are fewer opportunities to witness death and death is not readily discussed.[1]

Hypothesized psychological reasons for the increase in kodokushi include social apathy and life stress.[10] Social isolation is used as a coping mechanism to avoid stressful situations.[10] Scholars have also analyzed how "contemporary discourse constructs kodokushi as a "bad death" and as evidence for the decay of "traditional" social bonds, such as family, neighborhood and company ties," with government and community initiatives thereby pushing "to implement new welfare systems, often suggesting to re-activate lost family and community bonds".[11]

Responses edit

Some districts in Japan have begun campaigns and movements to prevent lonely deaths. Officials in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward have started a kodokushi awareness campaign that includes scheduled social events and checking in on the well-being of elderly citizens.[1]

Miyu Kojima, an artist from Japan, creates miniature dioramas of the rooms where kodokushi victims were found. She works as a lonely death cleaner and the miniatures are composites of the places she cleaned. Her aim is to raise awareness for the phenomenon.[12][13]

In other countries edit

The phenomenon has been highlighted as a cause for concern in Hong Kong and South Korea. Like Japan, both have ageing populations and increasing numbers of elderly people living alone and isolated.[14]

In South Korea, the equivalent is called godoksa (Hangul: 고독사), the Korean pronunciation of the Hanja characters. As godoksa is not a legal term, such deaths are often classified as "unconnected deaths".[15] The term has been expanded to describe deaths (whether natural or suicide) of the middle-aged who are single and withdrawn from society.[16]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Nobel, Justin (2010-04-06). "Japan: 'Lonely Deaths' Rise Among Unemployed, Elderly". Time. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  2. ^ Brasor, Philip (2012-03-04). "Japan's lonely people: Where do they all belong?". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  3. ^ Dahl, Nils (2020-01-02). "Governing through kodokushi . Japan's lonely deaths and their impact on community self-government". Contemporary Japan. 32 (1): 83–102. doi:10.1080/18692729.2019.1680512. ISSN 1869-2729. S2CID 211457404.
  4. ^ A Generation in Japan Faces a Lonely Death Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times, November 30, 2017
  5. ^ McDonald, Mark (2012-03-25). "In Japan, Lonely Deaths in Society's Margins". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  6. ^ Anne Allison (2013). Precarious Japan. Duke University Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-0822377245. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Leng Leng Thang (2001). Generations in Touch: Linking the Old and Young in a Tokyo Neighborhood. Cornell University Press. pp. 177–179. ISBN 0801487323. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  8. ^ Mihaela Robila (2013). Handbook of Family Policies Across the Globe. Springer Science & Business. p. 327. ISBN 978-1461467717. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  9. ^ Hikaru Suzuki (2013). Death and Dying in Contemporary Japan. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 978-0415631907. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Noida sisters' case: It's 'kodokushi' in Japan!". News. Zeenews.com. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  11. ^ Nils Dahl (2019). "Governing through kodokushi. Japan's lonely deaths and their impact on community self-government". Contemporary Japan. 32 (1): 2. doi:10.1080/18692729.2019.1680512. S2CID 211457404.
  12. ^ "Dioramas of death: Cleaner recreates rooms where people died alone". TheGuardian.com. 9 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Kojima Miyu: Bringing to Life the Final Days of the Forgotten - Face to Face - TV | NHK WORLD-JAPAN Live & Programs".
  14. ^ "A glimpse of Hong Kong's lonely future in South Korea's ageing society". South China Morning Post. 8 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Report documents instances of lonely deaths in South Korean society". The Hankyoreh. 4 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Cleaning up after 'godoksa,' lonely deaths in Korea". The Korea Times. 14 May 2022.

January 01, 1970
kodokushi, help, expand, this, article, with, text, translated, from, corresponding, article, japanese, february, 2020, click, show, important, translation, instructions, view, machine, translated, version, japanese, article, machine, translation, like, deepl,. You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese February 2020 Click show for important translation instructions View a machine translated version of the Japanese article Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 3 691 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at ja 孤独死 see its history for attribution You may also add the template Translated ja 孤独死 to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation Kodokushi 孤独死 or lonely death is a Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time 1 First described in the 1980s 1 kodokushi has become an increasing problem in Japan attributed to economic troubles and Japan s increasingly elderly population 1 2 It is also known as koritsushi 孤立死 isolation death and dokkyoshi 独居死 live alone death Contents 1 History 2 Statistics 3 Causes 4 Responses 5 In other countries 6 See also 7 ReferencesHistory editKodokushi was first documented in Japanese newspapers during the 1970s and studies exploring the phenomenon began as early as 1973 with surveys conducted by the National Social Welfare Council and National Union of Voluntary District Welfare Commissioners 3 The first instance that became national news in Japan was in 2000 when the corpse of a 69 year old man was discovered three years after his death his monthly rent and utilities had been withdrawn automatically from his bank account and only after his savings were depleted was his skeleton discovered at his home The body had been consumed by maggots and beetles 4 Statistics editStatistics regarding kodokushi are often incomplete or inaccurate 1 5 Japan s public broadcaster NHK reported that 32 000 elderly people nationwide died alone in 2009 6 The number of kodokushi tripled between 1983 and 1994 with 1 049 lonely deaths reported in Tokyo in 1994 7 In 2008 there were more than 2 200 reported lonely deaths in Tokyo 1 Similar numbers were reported in 2011 8 One private moving company in Osaka reported that 20 percent of the moving company s jobs 300 per year involved removing the belongings of people who had died lonely deaths 1 Approximately 4 5 of funerals in 2006 involved instances of kodokushi 9 Kodokushi mostly affects men who are 50 or older 1 Causes editSeveral reasons for the increase in kodokushi have been proposed One proposed reason is increased social isolation A decreasing proportion of elderly Japanese people are living in multi generational housing and are instead living alone 7 Elderly people who live alone are more likely to lack social contacts with family and neighbors and are therefore more likely to die alone and remain undiscovered 7 Additionally the economic slump in Japan since 1990 has been cited as contributing to the increase in lonely deaths 1 Since 1990 many Japanese businessmen have been forced into early retirement 1 Many of these men have never married and become socially isolated when removed from the corporate culture 1 Masaki Ichinose head of the University of Tokyo s Institute of Death and Life Studies hypothesizes that the increase in kodokushi is linked to Japan s contemporary culture which ignores death 1 Several hundred years ago Japanese people commonly confronted death for example bodies were typically buried by family members 1 In contrast in modern Japan there are fewer opportunities to witness death and death is not readily discussed 1 Hypothesized psychological reasons for the increase in kodokushi include social apathy and life stress 10 Social isolation is used as a coping mechanism to avoid stressful situations 10 Scholars have also analyzed how contemporary discourse constructs kodokushi as a bad death and as evidence for the decay of traditional social bonds such as family neighborhood and company ties with government and community initiatives thereby pushing to implement new welfare systems often suggesting to re activate lost family and community bonds 11 Responses editSome districts in Japan have begun campaigns and movements to prevent lonely deaths Officials in Tokyo s Shinjuku Ward have started a kodokushi awareness campaign that includes scheduled social events and checking in on the well being of elderly citizens 1 Miyu Kojima an artist from Japan creates miniature dioramas of the rooms where kodokushi victims were found She works as a lonely death cleaner and the miniatures are composites of the places she cleaned Her aim is to raise awareness for the phenomenon 12 13 In other countries editThe phenomenon has been highlighted as a cause for concern in Hong Kong and South Korea Like Japan both have ageing populations and increasing numbers of elderly people living alone and isolated 14 In South Korea the equivalent is called godoksa Hangul 고독사 the Korean pronunciation of the Hanja characters As godoksa is not a legal term such deaths are often classified as unconnected deaths 15 The term has been expanded to describe deaths whether natural or suicide of the middle aged who are single and withdrawn from society 16 See also edit nbsp Japan portal Hikikomori Karoshi Parasite single Suicide in JapanReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Nobel Justin 2010 04 06 Japan Lonely Deaths Rise Among Unemployed Elderly Time Retrieved 2020 08 04 Brasor Philip 2012 03 04 Japan s lonely people Where do they all belong The Japan Times Retrieved 2014 06 22 Dahl Nils 2020 01 02 Governing through kodokushi Japan s lonely deaths and their impact on community self government Contemporary Japan 32 1 83 102 doi 10 1080 18692729 2019 1680512 ISSN 1869 2729 S2CID 211457404 A Generation in Japan Faces a Lonely Death Norimitsu Onishi New York Times November 30 2017 McDonald Mark 2012 03 25 In Japan Lonely Deaths in Society s Margins The New York Times Retrieved 2014 06 22 Anne Allison 2013 Precarious Japan Duke University Press pp 126 127 ISBN 978 0822377245 Retrieved 22 June 2014 a b c Leng Leng Thang 2001 Generations in Touch Linking the Old and Young in a Tokyo Neighborhood Cornell University Press pp 177 179 ISBN 0801487323 Retrieved 22 June 2014 Mihaela Robila 2013 Handbook of Family Policies Across the Globe Springer Science amp Business p 327 ISBN 978 1461467717 Retrieved 22 June 2014 Hikaru Suzuki 2013 Death and Dying in Contemporary Japan Routledge p 13 ISBN 978 0415631907 Retrieved 22 June 2014 a b Noida sisters case It s kodokushi in Japan News Zeenews com Retrieved 29 November 2011 Nils Dahl 2019 Governing through kodokushi Japan s lonely deaths and their impact on community self government Contemporary Japan 32 1 2 doi 10 1080 18692729 2019 1680512 S2CID 211457404 Dioramas of death Cleaner recreates rooms where people died alone TheGuardian com 9 June 2019 Kojima Miyu Bringing to Life the Final Days of the Forgotten Face to Face TV NHK WORLD JAPAN Live amp Programs A glimpse of Hong Kong s lonely future in South Korea s ageing society South China Morning Post 8 August 2019 Report documents instances of lonely deaths in South Korean society The Hankyoreh 4 March 2018 Cleaning up after godoksa lonely deaths in Korea The Korea Times 14 May 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kodokushi amp oldid 1201404947, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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