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Lately apartment complexes all across Japan have witnessed a spate of "solitary deaths". The Tokiwadaira housing complex, built 45 years ago on the north-eastern outskirts of Tokyo, was Japan's first large-scale public housing project. Over a recent three year period, twenty-one "solitary deaths" occurred on premises. Almost all were men, and most were relatively young, between the ages of 40 and 60. Circumstances varied but generally, these men had lost their jobs, their families and their health. Remote and lonely, they had cut all ties to society. Even their deaths went unnoticed, for as long as three months. Appalled, the residents of Tokiwadaira have established a counselling centre to reach out to single residents. While highlighting the work of the centre's volunteer counsellors, this film explores the phenomenon of "solitary death" as a bleak microcosm of contemporary Japan.

Japan - 2005 - 52 mn - HD DV - Colour

Director Matsuki Hidefumi, Masahiro Shimizu Writer Matsuki Hidefumi Camera Kono Eiji Sound Komaki Shinko Editing Takahashi Akira

Production NHK Japan Broadcasting Corp, 2-2-1 Jinnan, Shibuya-Ku, 150-8001 Tokyo, Japon Tél : +81 3 5455 4279 Fax : +81 3 3481 1453

Sales NHK Japan Broadcasting Corp, 2-2-1 Jinnan, Shibuya-Ku, 150-8001 Tokyo, Japon Tél : +81 3 5455 4279 Fax : +81 3 3481 1453