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July 24, 2026
 

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DEATH

Nearly 60,000 people age 65 or older were found dead alone in their homes last year, with many of them discovered more than a week after they died.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Apr 17, 2026
Some 77,000 people found dead alone in their homes in 2025
People age 65 or older accounted for three-quarters of these cases of solitary deaths.
Medical academic societies are proposing new guidelines for life-sustaining treatment, focusing more on a patient's will and prior intentions.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Science & Health
Mar 18, 2026
New guidelines for life-sustaining treatment proposed in Japan
The recommendations do not define the end of life but focus on procedures for deciding whether to continue treatment after discussions with patients and families.
An app called ¡°Are you dead¡± targeted at people living alone has gone viral in China, with surging downloads and widespread commentary on social media.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 14, 2026
¡®Are you dead?¡¯ Chinese app for single living goes viral
The surge in popularity has prompted the developer to introduce a subscription fee and change the app¡¯s name for a global ?audience.
In pet-loving Japan, the ways owners say goodbye to their dearly departed animals can mirror the ways they bid farewell to other humans.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 29, 2025
In Japan, beloved pets receive human-style farewells
Japan has the highest rate of cremation in the world, and increasingly, that applies to departed pets as well.
An instructor touches up a mannequin in a coffin during a funeral administration class at the Busan Institute of Science and Technology in Busan.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2025
Death becomes a growing business in aging, lonely South Korea
Single-person households now account for around 42% of all homes in South Korea, giving rise to a new profession: cleaners called in to clean homes after their occupants have died.
An employee mops the floor in front of a retail store selling black clothing to mourn the death of Thailand's former Queen Sirikit, at a shopping mall in Bangkok on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2025
In the black: The business of mourning Thailand¡¯s queen mother
The royal family holds a central place in Thai society, with portraits of its members seen in homes, offices and public spaces across the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after a group photograph before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2025
Hot mic catches Xi and Putin talking about organ transplants and immortality
The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, spoke of technology that could help humans live up to 150 years.
Foreign tourists visit a park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in August.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Sep 3, 2025
Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering
On Tuesday, the Australian Embassy warned on Facebook that travelers must ensure ¡°appropriate behavior¡± while visiting Japan, without explicitly referring to the incident.
Among elderly people age 65 and over, the share of single-person households jumped from 5.0% to 12.1% between 1995 to 2020.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 27, 2025
Use of deceased¡¯s person¡¯s savings for cremation allowed without heirs¡¯ consent
The move is aimed at reducing the financial burden on municipalities, which have often shouldered burial or cremation costs.
Cases of cancer patients and doctors having conversations about where the patient wanted to spend his or her last days came to 52.9% in 2021, up from 35.7% in the previous survey.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2025
About half of people who died from cancer discussed last days with doctors
About 60% of cancer patients were able to spend their last days at places where they wished to be, a report has shown.
A Buddhist monk performs a ceremony for lost souls at a property which is classified as a <i>jiko?bukken</i>, or a "misfortunate property" where deaths have occurred, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on May 8.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 1, 2025
As property prices soar in Japan, the taint of death may not deter some buyers
Investors attracted by potential high yields increasingly do not care about a property¡¯s grim history, mostly because they are unlikely to live there themselves.
Hiroshi Matsumoto, a professor at the University of Osaka who has performed autopsies on bodies suspected to have been involved in criminal cases, believes it's of the utmost importance to nurture people who can do such work.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 2, 2025
Osaka institute nurtures forensic pathologists amid a low autopsy rate
Even though the number of forensic pathologists is on the rise, there were only 173 such people nationwide as of April last year, with nine prefectures having just one each.
While AI-generated simulations of deceased loved ones may offer comfort, they raise ethical concerns about consent, reality distortion and the human experience of grief.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025
AI resurrecting the dead threatens our grasp on reality
Experts warn that AI-driven digital immortality could distort reality and emotional well-being, requiring safeguards against unhealthy dependence.
Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Mar 31, 2025
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
A growing industry quietly erases the final traces of those who die alone, exposing deep societal fractures.
Kodai Furutani, the assistant chief priest at Ryugasan Unmon Temple in Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, is working to become an interfaith chaplain.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Feb 18, 2025
Monk in chaplain training urges people to face death and live life
There is a deep-seated idea in Japan that a monk being seen at a hospital is a bad omen, as their presence reminds patients and medical staff of death.
Those who lived in Japan¡¯s Nara Period, which lasted from the year 710 to 794, by and large knew themselves to be blessed. It wasn¡¯t just those in power who felt it, either. From nobles to commoners, the poets seemed to have democratized joy itself.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / The Living Past
Jan 17, 2025
From Genji to ¡®hikikomori,¡¯ how we make peace with disappearing
Japan¡¯s reverence for impermanence reveals a profound connection between beauty and loss, from poetic musings to spiritual retreats, echoing in modern expressions of solitude.
DOPS Director Dr. Jim Tucker (back row, from left), David Acunzo, Marina Weiler, Philip Cozzolino (front row, from left) Marieta Pehlivanova and Elliot Gish, pose for a photo on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, on July 15. Is reincarnation real? Is communication from the "beyond¡± possible? A small set of academics are trying to find out, case by case.
WORLD / Society
Jan 4, 2025
Do you believe in life after death? These scientists study it.
Is reincarnation real? Is communication from the ¡°beyond¡± possible? A small set of academics are trying to find out, case by case.
One researcher claims that the much-touted long lifespans of Japan, Italy and other countries may be propped up by faulty data.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 25, 2024
The secret to living to 110? Bad record-keeping, says Ig Nobel Prize winner.
The true secret to extreme longevity seems to be to ¡°move where birth certificates are rare, teach your kids pension fraud and start lying,¡± the researcher has said.
Students at Hiroshima University¡¯s School of Dentistry offer silent prayers for the donors of bodies before they practice anatomy on the cadavers in late October.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Chugoku
Dec 16, 2024
In death, body donors become silent teachers for medical students
Practical training on cadavers significantly increases the understanding of the human body, says one professor.
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" ¡ª data and online services left behind when people die.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Nov 25, 2024
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
The National Consumer Affairs Center is getting an increasing number of consultations regarding data and online services left behind by deceased persons.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse&#039;s brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo&#039;s Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan&#039;s relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces&#039; Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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