When rescue workers responded to a midnight emergency call from an Osaka apartment unit in August 2016 and rushed to the scene, they first had to climb ove
When rescue workers responded to a midnight emergency call from an Osaka apartment unit in August 2016 and rushed to the scene, they first had to climb over piles of junk including empty cans and leftover food. Among it, they found a dehydrated elderly woman whose thinking was muddled; nearby was her older sister who was suffering from dementia and in a state of confusion.
Their case illustrated another aspect of the growing problem posed by dementia in Japan.
Some people with the illness are unable to discard their garbage. Some unintentionally start fires, while others aimlessly wander around their apartment complexes or on nearby streets where their actions often go unnoticed.
In the case of the Osaka sisters, both in their 80s, neither had life-threatening injuries. But a regional assistance center official who visited them recounted the potential dangers the women faced.
Their room was sealed, the air-conditioning system was not functioning, and a bad odor was emanating from the place.
“If it had been one day later, both could have died,” the official said.
With the consent of the younger sister who owned the unit, the center arranged for a firm to dispose of 20 tons of garbage that took a week to clear out. The woman has since sold the unit and the sisters have moved out.
A briefing to residents in the other apartment units about what happened drew mixed reactions. Some expressed concern about the women, but others were more critical. One said an incident of this kind could lower the building’s real estate value.
