Reducing Isolated Deaths and Creating a Society Where Special Cleaning is Unnecessary.

Saniwa Co., Ltd. (Toda City, Saitama Prefecture), specializing in estate cleanup and special cleaning, operates under the philosophy of "organizing the mind through organizing belongings." We assist bereaved families of those who died in isolation or by suicide in taking a step forward through our estate cleanup and special cleaning services. We are committed to reducing isolated deaths, a pressing social issue, and striving to create "a society where special cleaning is unnecessary."

[Background of the Dream] Statistics show that the number of isolated deaths (including suicides) is high among men in their late 50s, a prime working age. The number of cases where individuals have no contact with family or society, and their discovery takes several weeks, is increasing year by year. In fact, 60% of the isolated death cases handled by our company involve men in their 50s. Furthermore, there is a growing trend of indifference among bereaved families towards estate cleanup, often viewing it as "just throwing things away." We believe this reflects a general weakening of human relationships in society, and a lack of concern for others, whether family or strangers, which contributes to isolated deaths.

I myself experienced a period where I lost hope in life after my wife, with whom I had spent 16 years, died by suicide. I couldn't bring myself to discard the bag my wife had with her last, and when I asked a temple to perform a cremation ceremony for it, I was told, "This is just an object now. You must discard it yourself." This prompted me to make the decision to dispose of it, allowing me to find closure. Feeling that I had finally taken a step forward, I realized that by performing estate cleanup myself, I could engage with bereaved families as a third party who understood their pain more than anyone else. This led me to establish this business.

Our company's management philosophy is "organizing the mind through organizing belongings." Through our estate cleanup and special cleaning business, as we confront death, our dream is: - To expand person-centered monitoring services and community-building initiatives nationwide to reduce isolated deaths.

[Our Efforts to Date] In our estate cleanup business, we prioritize identifying and preserving as much as possible of what the deceased cherished, and returning it to the bereaved families. Increasingly, estate cleanup is treated merely as a disposal task, with families often only wanting items of monetary value to be kept. Especially in cases of isolated death, where there is often a large amount of waste, and the primary task is waste removal, we still believe it is our duty to carefully identify and retrieve items the deceased loved or cherished, one by one, and ultimately return them to the bereaved families.

[Case Studies] Isolated Death Case 1) When I first started the business, I received a request from a local government office to clean out the belongings of someone receiving welfare. When I arrived at the scene, it turned out to be the home of a bar master I used to frequent. While cleaning up the belongings, I found an old newspaper from the day his daughter was born, displayed prominently. He had divorced and lived alone, and hadn't seen his daughter, yet he had carefully kept that newspaper. When I returned the newspaper to his daughter, she was overjoyed. This strongly reinforced the importance of preserving something the deceased cherished and returning it to their family. Room in a hoarder's house

Isolated Death Case 2) About three years after founding the estate cleanup business, I received a special cleaning request from a man in his 50s. When I arrived at the scene, it was where his 20-year-old son had died by suicide. He requested cleaning for the smell and bodily fluids, saying, "I couldn't save my son. I want to take responsibility for this final cleanup myself." At the time, we didn't perform special cleaning, but this incident made me feel a strong sense of mission towards special cleaning, thinking, "I must help people like this." Working attire during special cleaning

Isolated Death Case 3) The scene was an apartment located deep within a large building and residential area, somewhere between Kagurazaka and Chinzanso. It was a densely populated area where many people passed by the apartment door, yet inside, an isolated death had occurred – a stark contrast. It was a scene that showed the ironic reality of completely opposite things happening.

[Future Initiatives and the Representative's Vision] Requests for special cleaning are increasing year by year. From a business perspective, this means more work. However, facing these scenes day after day, my strong wish is to "eliminate isolated deaths."

Our company's future activities will include: - Providing mental care in collaboration with psychological counselors at isolated death scenes, addressing the deep sorrow and sense of loss experienced by bereaved families. - Building a monitoring service system in cooperation with administrative bodies. - Creating community spaces where local people can interact.

Through these activities, we will advance the creation of a society where special cleaning is unnecessary.

[Company Profile] Company Name: Saniwa Co., Ltd. Address: 5-35-7 Sasame, Toda City, Saitama Prefecture, 335-0034 Japan Phone Number: 0120-23-2745 (Toll-free) / 048-423-2745 Representative: Hijiri Yamaguchi Qualifications: Estate Organizer, Pre-mortem Organizer Advisor, Organization and Storage Advisor Keywords: #April Dream, #Isolated Death, #Estate Cleanup, #Special Cleaning, #Organizing the Mind, #Monitoring Service, #Mental Care, #Community Space, #Bereaved Family Care, #Community Building