The Era of Approximately 76,000 Lonely Deaths Annually - What to Do with Remaining Real Estate?

Following the National Police Agency's first annual compilation, this release disseminates the reality of the 'aftermath' problem of lonely deaths and stigmatized properties, and community contributions through their purchase and renovation.

Okoyome Fudosan, a specialized stigmatized property buying service operated by Good-Bye-Bye Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture; Representative Directors: Hiroshi Takayanagi / Shota Yamaura), is engaged in the purchase and renovation of properties with issues such as lonely deaths, suicides, incidents, and hoarder houses.

As indicated by the annual aggregated data on lonely deaths first published by the National Police Agency in April 2025, lonely deaths amount to approximately 76,000 annually and are expected to expand further due to the rapid increase in single-person households. We hereby announce our initiatives and future prospects.

Background: Deepening Lonely Deaths and the 'Aftermath' Challenges Remaining in Real Estate

### Lonely Deaths, Approximately 76,000 Annually — National Police Agency's First Nationwide Data Released

In April 2025, the National Police Agency released its first annual compilation of "single-person individuals who died at home."

- Number of people who died alone at home in 2024: 76,020 nationwide - Of these, elderly people aged 65 or older: 58,044 people (76.4%) - Discovered more than one month after death: 4,538 people (7.8%)

Source: National Police Agency "Police-handled bodies, single-person individuals who died at home (Reiwa 6)" (Published April 11, 2025)

These figures represent the first opportunity for the social problem of "lonely deaths" to be visualized as data rather than just a feeling. Of the approximately 1.61 million deaths in 2024, a simple calculation shows that about 3.6% are "elderly people who died alone at home."

### Single-Person Households to Reach 44.3% by 2050 — Lonely Deaths Will "Structurally Continue to Increase"

According to future projections by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (published in 2024), the proportion of single-person households will rise from 38.0% in 2020 to 44.3% in 2050. Furthermore, the proportion of unmarried men aged 65 or older in single-person households is expected to sharply increase from 33.7% to 59.7%.

As the number of elderly people without spouses or children rapidly increases, the problem of lonely deaths and associated real estate issues will inevitably expand. Properties where lonely deaths have occurred are commonly known as "stigmatized properties," and their selling price typically drops by about 10-50% compared to normal. In many cases, depending on the property's condition, the purchase itself may be refused.

Moreover, leaving properties unattended not only incurs a continuous burden of fixed asset tax but also leads to the deterioration of the local environment due to becoming vacant homes. "What to do with real estate after a lonely death occurs" is a challenge not only for bereaved families but for the entire community.

Source: National Institute of Population and Social Security Research "Future Projections of Household Numbers in Japan (National Projections)" (Reiwa 6 Projections)

"Okoyome Fudosan" Initiatives: Community Contribution Through Purchase and Renovation

Since its establishment, our company has been involved in real estate purchases, including stigmatized and problematic properties. The purchase of stigmatized properties (lonely deaths, suicides, incidents, hoarder houses, etc.) has been increasing year by year, with cases caused by lonely deaths accounting for approximately 80% of the total. This proportion is on an upward trend annually, and we are keenly aware of the deepening social problem from the field.

Most inquiries come from spouses or siblings aged 40-60s, followed by elderly relatives aged 70-90s. It is not uncommon to hear comments like, "I was rejected by multiple real estate agents and didn't know where to turn," or "I don't know how to clean up or proceed with the sale."

Case Studies of Purchase and Renovation: The 'Aftermath' of Stigmatized and Problematic Properties

For properties where lonely deaths have occurred, simply "selling" does not solve the problem. Only by appropriately renovating the property and delivering it to the next occupant can it truly contribute back to the community. Here are some examples of our actual initiatives.

Case 1: A condominium built approximately 40 years ago, where a lonely death occurred and the body was left for about one month in summer.

Property Overview: Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, condominium, approximately 40 years old, 3DK.

Circumstances: A person living alone died a lonely death. Discovery took about one month. As it was summer, decomposition odor and insects occurred inside the room, and neighbors noticed the abnormality (foul odor) and reported it.

Bereaved Family's Troubles: The heirs were siblings. There were numerous challenges, including procedures required for inheritance registration, removal of remaining belongings, odor elimination, and the burden of monthly management fees and other maintenance costs.

Our Response: Since the condominium management association had arranged for the removal of remaining belongings in advance, we simultaneously proceeded with inheritance registration procedures, including interviews with judicial scriveners and obtaining necessary documents. After the inheritance registration was completed, our company purchased the property. After performing a purification ritual, based on the opinion of special cleaning experts, the interior was almost completely dismantled to a bare shell state. Subsequently, it was renovated to change the floor plan to 2LDK.

Result: The property was purchased by an investor looking for rental operation. This is an example where we were able to proceed in cooperation with the heirs, the condominium board chairman, and the management company representative.

Case 2: Inherited Real Estate