The term “kodokushi” is becoming more and more popular and often used in Japan, which means a lonely death, when the body of the deceased remains undetected for weeks or even months, since loneliness is considered a right in this country, which they try not to violate.
The fact that lonely deaths are a problem for the country is evidenced by the fact that in Japanese there are at least three terms for this phenomenon: “kodokushi”, “koritsushi” and “dokkyoshi”. In order to understand the shades of the meanings of these words, one must be Japanese, or at least know the language well.
But the fact remains – lonely deaths are indeed a problem. And above all – for companies engaged in the delivery of housing.
If the body of the deceased has been lying in a locked apartment for several months, it is very problematic and, moreover, quite expensive to remove traces of the sad incident and the smell that has literally absorbed into the walls. And it is the company that has to pay, since such tenants, as a rule, do not have relatives or communication with them has been lost for a long time. In addition, according to experts, the cost of renting such housing falls by 10-20%.
Therefore, the enterprising Japanese have found a way out – they simply do not rent out housing to people at risk, that is, elderly lonely citizens.
The know-how of one of the Japanese real estate agencies helped to change the situation on the real estate market: apartments are equipped with a “death detector” – special sensors that track electricity consumption before being handed over to elderly lonely tenants. In the event of a deviation from the usual consumption schedule within about a day, the device will call the tenant back and if he does not answer, it will send a letter to the landlord, who will organize an apartment check.
