In the summer of 2010, we witnessed record heat. However, for me, it will probably remain in my memory as a smelly summer. It was in the beginning of July when I began to sense that “something” smelled in the hallways of the condominium building where I live. Towards the end of that month, the odor became uncommonly nasty and so I contacted the management center with a terrible foreboding.

When I returned home from work, I saw that the door of the residence on the opposite side had been sealed up with masking tape. I realized that an elderly person who lived alone had passed away. As soon as I understood that the nasty smell was the stench of death, it became unbearable and so I requested the management center to take immediate measures.

Even after a few days, however, nothing had changed, nor had the neighborhood residents received any sort of explanation from the management center. It was ten days after first contacting them when I finally reached the person in charge and found out what was going on.

According to that person, on the day they were informed of the matter, police entered the residence and investigated. The professional company to whom the police outsource such work carried out the dead body and conducted primary treatment of the residence. He explained that they could not take any specific measures since they were told by the police not to enter the site for ten days. Finally, on the 11th day, another company conducted the secondary treatment.

At around mid-August, the bereaved family packed the belongings, carried them out, and cancelled the lease agreement. It was at the end of August when the interior finishing work was implemented and the nasty smell finally disappeared. This means that the neighborhood residents had to endure the smell for almost two months.

The unknown whereabouts and solitary deaths of elderly persons living alone have surfaced as social problems, but I never thought this could happen so close to home. While I pray for the repose of the deceased, I would also like for the manager, who lacked accountability and consideration of residents, to improve his consciousness as a professional.

(Kazuhiro Mikami)