Nearly 42,000 bodies went unclaimed in Japan during the 2023 calendar year, amid a rise in the number of elderly people who live alone, according to a government report.

The bodies were subsequently cremated or buried by local authorities, according to the first-of-its-kind study, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Sunday.

The 41,969 bodies, identified and unidentified, made up 2.7 percent of deaths in 2023.

The study, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, showed that most municipalities did not have an established protocol for handling bodies, including how long they should be kept before cremation.

It comes amid concerns that relatives may try to claim bodies after they have been cremated.

The graveyards and burials law and other regulations stipulate that if no claimant is found, the municipal government of the place of death will cremate the body.

The survey on how municipalities across the country handle unclaimed bodies and remains, the first of its kind, found that only 11.3 percent of local governments had a manual for managing unclaimed bodies and remains.

According to forecasts by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, about 23.3 million out of 52.6 million households, or 44.3 percent, will be single-person households by 2050.