On December 11, police inspected the apartment in Minato district, Osaka city and discovered the decomposing bodies of mother and child.
Police said the two victims had been dead for several months and they only went to the apartment to check after receiving information from the old woman’s sister about her sister not being in touch for a long time.
The Mainichi newspaper reported that the two women had lived in the apartment for about 10 years and were initially very active in the local community.
Two elderly people in Toshima district, Tokyo.
According to Osaka officials, neither mother nor daughter had applied for or received social benefits, meaning their situation was unknown to the local welfare office.
The mother and daughter did not pay for the newspaper on time, so the local newspaper salesman repeatedly came to the house to inquire, but they did not open the door.
The death of mother and daughter shocked many Japanese people.
`People’s connection to the community is increasingly fading these days. It’s sad that something like this happens here,` said a neighbor in his 70s.
`When I was a child, the local police used to visit when we moved to a new house, but they don’t do that anymore,` said Yasuyuki Gondo, a psychology professor at Osaka University who specializes in studying the elderly.
Gondo said this phenomenon also happens to neighbors living in the same area.
The phenomenon of kodokishi, or people dying alone and undiscovered, was first identified in Japan in the 1980s, although there is some evidence that the phenomenon is becoming more common, especially in Japan.
Support centers across Japan have recently received many requests for assistance from people facing poverty, apparently due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
People who are struggling can receive guidance on how to apply for government benefits due to loss of income or medical assistance.
Support centers recorded a peak of 95,000 people seeking counseling in April, apparently due to job losses and reduced income due to the pandemic, but the number fell to about 40,000 in July.
However, welfare agencies warn that the numbers are once again rising as the number of Covid-19 infections in the country surpasses 200,000, with more than 2,800 deaths.
