Record 19,039 Dementia Sufferers Missing in Japan in 2023

Jiji Press

11:16 JST, July 5, 2024

Tokyo, July 4 (Jiji Press) — Japan’s National Policy Agency said Thursday a record 19,039 dementia sufferers became unaccounted for in the country last year, up 330 from the previous year.

The annual number of reports to police of people with cognitive disorders going missing has kept rising since the statistics started in 2012.

Of the 2023 total, 10,597 were men and 8,442 women.

By prefecture, Hyogo had the highest reported number, at 2,094, followed by Osaka, at 2,016, and Saitama, at 1,912.

The agency also said some 74 pct of 18,221 dementia sufferers whose whereabouts were confirmed last year were found on the day the missing reports were received by police and that 71 people were spotted thanks to GPS trackers between July and December.