Starvation death of mother and daughter in Japan reveals harsh cost of poverty in the time of coronavirus
- Support centres around the country have seen a surge in consultations, but the tragedy in Osaka shows that there are also those who fall through the safety net
- Evidence shows that phenomenon of ‘kodokushi’, or people dying alone and remaining undiscovered, is becoming increasingly frequent
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported this week that there were 391,717 consultations at centres across Japan between April to September, more than three times the number reported in the same period last year.
Anyone struggling to make ends meet can get information on how to apply for government support for lost income or assistance on health issues, and a number of local authorities have also taken over hotels for people with nowhere to live, with priority going to families.
Some centres are providing details on job opportunities, although those seem to be relatively scarce, while local governments are also handing out food packages.
Support centres logged a monthly peak of 95,000 cases in April, apparently due to lost jobs and falling incomes because of the pandemic, but that had fallen to around 40,000 consultations in July. Welfare authorities warn, however, that numbers are once again rising as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country has ticked past 200,000, with over 2,800 deaths.
And even these figures fail to tell the full story, as some individuals continue to fall through the country’s safety net.
On December 11, police entered a flat in Osaka’s Minato Ward and discovered the decomposing bodies of a 68-year-old woman and her 42-year-old daughter. There was no food in the refrigerator, the gas and water had been cut off and there was just 13 yen (less than 13 US cents) in the older woman’s purse.
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