17,636 Dementia Sufferers Reported Missing in Japan in 2021

From Jiji

June 23 2022

TOKYO – The number of dementia sufferers who were reported missing in Japan last year rose by 71 from the preceding year to 17,636, police data showed Thursday. 

The figure marked the ninth consecutive year of increase and jumped 1.8-fold from 2012, when statistics began, according to the data by the National Police Agency. 

Police are making efforts to find missing dementia sufferers quickly by using local municipalities’ disaster warning systems and other means.

The whereabouts of 16,977 dementia sufferers, including 10 people who were reported missing in 2020 or before, were confirmed in 2021.

The whereabouts of 12,540 of them, or over 70 pct, were located within the day the reports about their disappearances were accepted by police, while 450 people were found dead on the road or elsewhere.