Dying Alone: Kodokushi, Japan's epidemic of isolation through the eyes of a 'lonely death' cleaner

[morris]

Lonely deaths, or kodokoshi, are on the rise in Japan. Thousands of elderly people die in their homes without anyone knowing. Sometimes corpses remain undiscovered for weeks or even months, so companies devoted to cleaning up the homes of the dead are increasingly in demand.

RTD’s Artyom Somov went to Japan to ask elderly citizens if they're afraid of solitude. He also meets a man working in the macabre kodokoshi industry to find out how he feels about cleaning up after the dead.

 

[Dorian Breh]

Nigguz die everyday, B

 

[FreedMind]

@morris always coming thru with the dope content

 

[Ya' Cousin Cleon]

Japan comes off like such a cold place

 

[SheWantTheD]

Reminds me of the Hikokomori in Japan, people who are recluse from society and stay inside all day.

Edit: They need to touch on why these people have a distant, weak relationship to their families.

shyt lowkey got me afraid of becoming old smh.

 

[Swirv]

Death is humbling. Those who are surrounded by loved ones in their last moments should be thankful.

I know these cleaners are making good bread cleaning and reselling items. Crazy how the deceased ones families pretty much abandon them.

 

[Cabbage Patch]

There's more to the story, starting with traditional elder respect and ending with female empowerment.

 

[Dont@Me]

 

[Amestafuu (Emeritus)]

#GMB

 

[MikelArteta]

Japan seems like a fd up place

From Panties in machine to hentai, to nikkas looking like girls to worshipping cac culture even though they dropped two atomic bombs on ya ass. To guys with virtual girlfriends, high suicide rates.

 

[Matt504]

Those bombs changed Japan forever.

 

[Amestafuu (Emeritus)]

Japan seems like a fd up place

From Panties in machine to hentai, to nikkas looking like girls to worshipping cac culture even though they dropped two atomic bombs on ya ass. To guys with virtual girlfriends, high suicide rates.

doesn't seem so odd when you see how technology has shaped our societies in just a few decades...

they are like an extreme example of what all this electronic living ends up looking like long term.

 

[TinFoilSnapBack]

Japan comes off like such a cold place

It is. That’s why I had to cut my teaching stint short and get outta there. I already have depressive tendencies, but I got extremely depressed when I was over there. You’re truly alone, even if you have friends.

There’s this cultural thing called “tatemae and honne”. Your tatemae is your public face, and your honne is your private face/personality. They are taught to always put on a front for other people (more than Americans). You never know what a Japanese is truly thinking. My coworkers never had a cross word with me, and smiled with me every day, yet would turn around and snitch on me for dumb shyt.

They also have a saying that says “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down”. In other words, don’t rock the boat or try to challenge the status quo. I’ve found this to be true especially in the context of work. Jobs are so abusive in Japan, and you’re expected to just go along with that shyt. You are expected to do all kinds of paid overtime, and do so with a smile. There’s a word in Japan called “karoshi” which means death from overwork.

When people ask me if I would recommend Japan, I say yea go and visit, but don’t go there to live.

 

[Vandelay]

Those bombs changed Japan forever.

I've always said an unexpected side effect of nuclear radiation is flat out weirdness.

 

[FLATOP]

Whole island is gonna die like that. Birth rate will hit zero and will just fade away