By KAE MORISHITA/ Staff Writer
March 28, 2023 at 18:13 JST
The internal affairs ministry in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
An increasing number of local governments are having to bear the funeral costs for people who died in financial hardship and have no one to claim their bodies.
The internal affairs ministry conducted a survey to ascertain the number for the first time.
There were 105,773 people who died between April 2018 and October 2021 without any relatives, according to the survey released on March 28.
About half of the deceased, or 55,424, had no assets, and local governments bore the funeral expenses.
The standard amount of such expenses that municipalities paid is around 210,000 yen ($1,600) per case. It is estimated that local governments could have paid about 11.6 billion yen overall.
The total amount the deceased left behind came to about 2.15 billion yen. If the money was deposited in bank accounts, however, it sometimes could not be withdrawn because financial institutions refused to allow it.
Internal Affairs Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said on the same day that the ministry will recommend that the welfare ministry and Justice Ministry work together so local governments can smoothly withdraw funds to cover funeral expenses.
For example, the ministries could distribute a guide that would detail the legal procedures for withdrawing the funds to inform municipalities and financial institutions.
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