Natural Death and Lonely Death: Are They Stigmatized Properties?

1. Natural Death and Disclosure Obligations

Natural death (shizen-shi / 自然死) from old age or pre-existing conditions is something that can naturally be expected to occur in a residential property. Under the MLIT Guidelines, disclosure is generally not required. Everyone eventually passes away, and dying at home is a natural occurrence.

Specifically, the following cases are classified as natural death and do not require disclosure.

• ✓Death from old age -- An elderly person passing away at home from natural aging
• ✓Death from illness -- Passing away at home from a pre-existing condition such as cancer or heart disease
• ✓Death from acute illness -- Passing away suddenly from conditions such as heart attack or stroke

2. How Lonely Death (Kodokushi) Is Handled

Lonely death (kodokushi / 孤独死) -- where a person living alone passes away at home and is not discovered for a certain period -- is a complex issue that sits at the boundary between natural death and stigmatized property. Even if the cause of death is natural (illness or old age), whether disclosure is required depends on how long it took to discover the body and the condition of the room.

In other words, the most critical factor in determining whether a lonely death makes a property stigmatized is not the cause of death but "whether specialized cleaning was required."

3. What Is Specialized Cleaning?

Specialized cleaning (tokushu seiso / 特殊清掃) refers to professional cleaning services required when decomposition of a body has progressed. Standard house cleaning cannot address the contamination and odor that results.

4. Disclosure Obligation Decision Flow

The following flow chart shows how to determine whether disclosure is required for natural death or lonely death.

5. Daily Accidental Death

Similar to natural death, accidental death occurring during the course of daily life is generally not subject to disclosure requirements. Specific examples include:

• ✓Falling down stairs -- Tripping on household stairs and dying from the fall
• ✓Drowning in the bathtub -- Losing consciousness in the bath and drowning (e.g., from heat shock)
• ✓Choking during a meal -- Dying from choking on food

However, even these types of accidental death may require disclosure if the body was left undiscovered for an extended period and specialized cleaning became necessary. The key criterion is the post-death condition of the room, not the cause of death.

6. Lonely Death and Social Context

In Japan, the number of lonely deaths has been increasing alongside an aging population and growing number of single-person households. The MLIT Guidelines' decision to generally exempt natural death from disclosure requirements also takes this social context into account.

If all natural deaths were subject to disclosure, it could lead to increased refusal to rent to elderly tenants. The Guidelines aim to balance the housing stability of elderly individuals with the buyer's or tenant's right to be informed.

7. Practical Considerations

Here are key points buyers and tenants should know about natural death and lonely death.

• ●Because natural death does not require disclosure, you may not be informed even if someone has died in the property
• ●For lonely death cases, directly asking the real estate agent "whether specialized cleaning was performed" can be effective
• ●Even when there is no disclosure obligation, giving a false answer to a direct question is not permitted
• ●If only certain rooms have been extensively renovated, it may indicate restoration after specialized cleaning
• ●Properties targeted at elderly or single-person households carry a relatively higher risk of natural death occurring

8. How JikoDB Displays This Information

JikoDB primarily lists information about lonely death cases that may trigger disclosure obligations, such as those involving specialized cleaning. Natural death cases that are generally deemed not to require disclosure are excluded from the database.

Each property's detail page displays a listing basis (Real Estate Listing / Information Provided), which can help you assess the nature of the information. Use the address search or map search features when researching properties.