“In Japan, one in five elderly people will die alone by 2050.”

In 27 years, it is predicted that one in five elderly people in Japan will remain unmarried for the rest of their lives, leading to a ``lonely death.''
According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun and other sources, on the 27th, research firm Mizuho Research &
Technologies estimates that approximately 320,000 people over the age of 65 will die unmarried in 2050. This is a 4.1 times increase compared to 2020, and the overall elderly population
accounting for 18.1% of deaths. This means that one in five people will die alone. The main cause is a social atmosphere that discourages marriage. National Social Security/People
According to the Institute for Mouth Problems, the average rate of unmarried people aged 50 was in the 4-5% range in 1990, but in 2020 it had significantly increased to 27.3% for men and 17.8% for women. The institute is an economic power
, explained that the feeling that ``it is natural for people to get married'' has been waning due to concerns about raising children, the expansion of women's participation in the workforce, and improvements in convenience in life.
The number of elderly people living alone is expected to increase, and related services and businesses are also increasing. The Japanese government is nationwide
Employees from around 20,000 post offices regularly visit the homes of elderly people to check on their health and other health conditions. Since last year, smart speakers equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) have been
A confirmation service has also started. At the private level, projects to sort out remains are emerging. To date, more than 50,000 people have obtained the qualification of estate organizer. Since there is no one to manage the grave after death, it is difficult to consider costs etc.
With this in mind, an increasing number of elderly people are choosing tree funerals or columbariums. In a survey of people who purchased graves this year, 52% of respondents chose a tree burial and 20% chose a columbarium.
South Korea is in a similar situation, so this is not someone else's problem. According to the Korea Statistics Agency (equivalent to the Statistics Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), there were 1.661 million elderly households living alone last year.
It was counted as an obi. This accounts for 35.1% of all elderly households. The number of households will continue to increase, doubling to 3.351 million households in 2037 and 4.051 million households in 2047.
The Statistics Agency predicts that the number will increase. The elderly population aged 65 and over accounts for 16.5% of the total population this year, and is expected to increase to 20.3% by 2025.