In Japan, a so-called "unclaimed death business" has emerged, handling everything from body transport and storage to cremation and enshrinement on behalf of families for elderly people living alone.
The Asahi Shimbun reported that a funeral service provider is selling body-handling packages to welfare departments in local governments around the Tokyo metropolitan area, including Tokyo and Chiba, for 165,000 yen per case, which is about 1.465 million won in Korean currency.
The target subjects are the bodies of elderly people who have no family or claimants, including welfare recipients.
In fact, the website of a company named "Memorial Chaze" states that the 165,000-yen service includes body placement, dry ice treatment, transportation within a 150 km radius across the Kanto region, encoffining, and storing remains for 5 years.
The company's representative told the Asahi Shimbun, "We have received orders for over 1,000 cases from local governments in the metropolitan area."
The biggest reason local governments turn to private companies is cost.
In Japan, when a welfare recipient dies and there is no one to hold a funeral, the government and local governments cover cremation costs and other expenses.
The upper limit for support in the metropolitan area is about 210,000 yen, or about 1.865 million won, and separate budgets are required for enshrinement or permanent memorialization.
On the other hand, the company in question handles the post-mortem procedures in bulk at a price about 20% cheaper than the existing support ceiling.
To lower prices, the company installed body refrigerators in warehouses located in residential areas.
They explain that by storing the bodies themselves until a slot opens up at an affordable public crematorium, they can save on custody and dry ice fees that would otherwise be paid to other funeral homes.
It was reported that bodies handed over by local governments are stored in large refrigerators inside a prefabricated warehouse without a sign in a residential area in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Markets like this are highly likely to expand further.
Unclaimed bodies handled by 69 major Japanese cities and wards increased by 32% from 8,800 bodies in fiscal 2018 to 11,602 bodies in fiscal 2022.
South Korea is experiencing a similar problem.
Unclaimed deaths in South Korea surged by 85.1% from 3,316 in 2020 to 6,139 in 2024, with 76% of unclaimed deaths in 2024 involving cases where families gave up claiming the body and holding a funeral, leaving the process to local governments.
(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Seo Byeong-wook | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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