By SHINICHI SEKINE/ Staff Writer
December 24, 2023 at 19:01 JST
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Eight elderly people died at nursing homes because of abuse in fiscal 2022, when a record 856 cases of mistreatment were reported at facilities across Japan, according to the welfare ministry.
The number of cases of elderly abuse by nursing home workers was up 15.8 percent from the previous year.
The ministry, which began compiling statistics it received from municipal governments in fiscal 2006, released the latest figures on Dec. 22.
It said the total number of elderly people abused across Japan in fiscal 2022 came to 1,406.
Physical abuse was most cited, accounting for 57.6 percent of cases, followed by psychological abuse at 33.0 percent and abandonment of care at 23.2 percent.
Respondents were allowed to choose multiple answers.
By facility, special nursing homes accounted for 274, or 32.0 percent of cases, while private nursing homes accounted for 221, or 25.8 percent of cases.
There were 16,669 cases of elderly abuse by family members in fiscal 2022, up 1.5 percent from the previous year and the first increase in two years.
Thirty-two people died, compared with 37 in fiscal 2021.
Abuse by sons accounted for 39.0 percent of cases, followed by husbands at 22.7 percent and daughters at 19.3 percent.
The welfare ministry has been encouraging consultation and reporting from nursing homes and other care facilities, which officials said contributed to the increase in the number of elderly abuse cases at such facilities.
A record 2,795 consultations and reports were received in fiscal 2022, up 16.9 percent from the previous year.
A ministry official said more abuse cases were confirmed partly because of staff training and the opening of consultation offices.
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