The central government is planning to introduce a nationwide program that will offer support and handle arrangements for single, elderly people even after their deaths, including funerals and cremations.

The welfare ministry decided that implementing a public support system for such tasks is increasingly necessary, given the demographic trends in this aging country.

The government will examine the costs and other issues and plans to test two programs this fiscal year.

Since the start of fiscal 2024 in April, some municipal governments have started experimenting with programs to provide continuous support to elderly people who live alone and have no relatives.

When entering hospitals or care facilities, elderly people usually get family members or other relatives to act as guarantors, who can arrange funeral services, organize belongings and play other roles in the event of death.

But as the Japanese population ages, the number of single-person households is increasing, and they often have no relatives who can serve as guarantors.

Currently, public assistance does not cover many of the tasks performed by guarantors.

Private businesses offer these services, but consumer complaints have risen because contracts often require a deposit of millions of yen.

And there is no system to check if such services were provided as contracted after the person’s death.

According to an estimate released in April by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the number of single-person households with individuals aged 65 or older will rise from 7.38 million in 2020 to 8.87 million in 2030.

The figure will then jump to 10.84 million in 2050.

By 2050, the “solitary rate” for seniors will reach 26.1 percent for men and 29.3 percent for women. The rates in 2020 were 16.4 percent for men and 23.6 percent for women.

Moreover, in 2050, 59.7 percent of men and 30.2 percent of women aged 65 or older who live alone are expected to be unmarried. The corresponding rates in 2020 were 33.7 percent for male seniors and 11.9 percent for females.

The estimate noted that today’s elderly people who live alone are likely to have siblings and children who live separately.

But in 2050, there will be a sharp increase in the number of elderly people living alone with no children, siblings or other close relatives.

The central government plans to initiate two model projects this fiscal year.

One project will establish consultation windows staffed by coordinators at municipal governments, local social welfare councils and other places.

The coordinators will provide information on a wide range of issues, such as dealing with daily problems, working out estate plans, writing wills and organizing belongings after death. They can also draw up support plans for the individuals.

In addition to services provided by municipal governments, such as food delivery and shopping support, coordinators will connect elderly individuals with experts, such as lawyers, who can take care of legal matters and end-of-life planning.

They can also connect the individuals with companies for funeral services, cremations and handling belongings.

The coordinators will follow up on the individuals’ cases until their deaths to ensure that support measures and signed contracts are properly implemented.

However, there are few professionals and companies for certain services, and the contracts for such tasks are costly.

Under the second model project, social welfare councils will be commissioned and subsidized by municipal governments to provide a package of services. For example, the councils can act as agents concerning elderly care insurance, manage money, act as emergency contacts, and handle postmortem procedures.

Central government subsidies of up to 5 million yen ($32,350) will make it possible for individuals to use this second program for a small fee.

Municipal governments will check the services to ensure quality.

The welfare ministry will examine what qualifications are needed for the coordinators.

“The project is groundbreaking because there has been no support for elderly people who have no relatives,” said Kanae Sawamura of the Japan Research Institute who specializes in elderly care issues.

“If a coordinator is assigned to them before their death, the support is expected to go smoothly,” she said.

Katsuhiko Fujimori, a social policy theory professor at Nihon Fukushi University, said: “In 2050, it is possible that everyone will be living alone in old age. It is important to reach a consensus on how much of what has traditionally been done by family members will be supported by the public system.”

He added, “Discussions on how to finance the system to make it sustainable will be important.”

(This article was written by Haruna Ishikawa, Shuichi Doi and Fumihiko Yamada.)