泰国深受日本退休人员欢迎但却在此孤独死去 [日本媒体]

Thailand popular with Japanese retirees but many end up dying alone

泰国受日本退休人员喜欢但许多人最终孤独死去



A cat sits on a bed on April 22 at the home of an 81-year-old Japanese man who died in February on the outskirts of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. | KYODO

4月22日，一只猫坐在床上。81岁的日本主人死于二月，他家位于泰国北部清迈的郊区。

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND – In a slum in the outskirts of the Thai city of Chiang Mai, where trash and abandoned cars litter the streets, an 81-year-old Japanese man died of cancer in February.

泰国，清迈 - 二月，在泰国清迈郊区，一个垃圾和废弃的汽车堆满街道的贫民窟里，一个81岁的日本男子死于癌症。

“I want to go back to Japan. I miss Japan,” the man had said on his deathbed at home.

“我想回日本去。我想念日本，”临终之前，他在家里曾说过这样一句话。

His siblings refused to take his remains, prompting his Thai girlfriend, who had been living with him, to scatter them in a river nearby.

他的兄弟姐妹拒绝接受他的遗体，反而催促和他生活在一起的泰国女朋友，将骨灰洒进附近的一条河中。

With prices relatively cheap, Thailand is a popular destination for Japanese retirees who want to move overseas.

因为价格相对便宜，泰国成了那些想要移居海外的日本退休人士最受欢迎的目的地。

But at the same time, a growing number of elderly Japanese are dying alone there.

但与此同时，越来越多住在泰国的日本老人却在孤独中去世。

According to the man’s girlfriend, he was born in Tokyo and worked as a taxi driver.

据该老人的女友所说，他出生于东京，以前是个出租车司机。

He moved to Thailand about two decades ago because it was more affordable than living in Japan.

大约二十年前他来到了泰国，因为这里比在日本生活更实惠。

But since he couldn’t speak Thai, he was lonely and stayed at home all day watching TV and reading books.

但是他不会说泰语，他很孤独，只能整天呆在家里看电视和读书。

“Because he wasn’t working, he was short on cash and couldn’t pay the hospital bills,” she recalled.

她回忆说：“因为他没有工作，也没有钱，支付不起医疗费用。”

It’s not a rare case.

这不是个案。

Another Japanese man in his 80s living nearby died around the same time after becoming ill.

差不多在同一时间，另一名生活在附近的80多岁的日本男子，得病后不治身亡。

He rarely talked with his neighbors.

他很少和他的邻居交谈。

His Thai wife conducted the funeral but his daughters in Japan refused to participate.

他的泰国妻子在事后举行了葬礼，但他在日本的女儿没有参加。

Dementia patients, terminally ill patients in hospitals with no one to rely on and unclaimed bodies at morgues are some of the issues the Japanese Consulate General in Chiang Mai hears about daily from Thai authorities.

在清迈的日本领事馆每天都能从泰国当局听到这些问题：老年痴呆症患者和患绝症的病人在医院无人依靠，无人认领在停尸房的尸体。

Northern Thailand is a popular retirement destination, with over 1,500 Japanese registered as residents there.

泰国北部是一个受欢迎的退休居住地，有超过1500名日本人在那里登记居住。

In most cases, they plan to return to Japan after their adventure ends.

大多数人，都计划在折腾完后返回日本。

“I don’t want to be a trouble to the Thai people, so I plan to go back to Japan eventually,” one 76-year-old Japanese man said.

一位76岁的日本男子说：“我不想给泰国人民带来麻烦，所以我还是想回到日本”。

But in some cases, they overstay their visas after exhausting their savings and have no money to go back.

但在某些情况下，他们倾尽积蓄后，签证超期了。他们没钱回去了。

In other cases, they can’t go back because of debt, work and relationship problems.

也有些人，因为债务，工作和亲属间的问题，他们有家不能回。

Thailand is said to be lax on immigration, which lures Japanese with complicated backgrounds.


据说泰国的宽松移民政策，吸引了那些背景复杂的日本人。

But since they tend to remain reclusive, it makes it difficult to find out where they live and how they are doing.

但由于他们倾向于保持深居简出，这使得他们的住所很难被发现，很少人知道他们是怎么过日子的。

According to the consulate in Chiang Mai, about 20 people have died in each of the past three years, reflecting the aging Japanese population there.

据清迈总领事馆的数据，在过去的三年里，每年都约有20人死亡，这也反映了日本人口的老龄化。

About 15 had died as of the end of April.

截至四月底，约有15人死亡。

Some die alone and aren’t discovered until several days later.

有些人死了，直到几天以后才发现。

When their relatives in Japan are contacted, many refuse to claim the body, saying they “don’t want to have anything to do with it.”

当联系到他们在日本的亲戚时，很多人拒绝认领尸体，说他们“不想和他有何瓜葛”。

Similar cases are said to be found in the Philippines.

类似事件在菲律宾也常有发生。

“It’s like a microcosm of the aging society in Japan,” said an official in charge of the issue at the consulate.

“这就像是日本老龄化社会的缩影，”一位负责该事务的领事馆官员说。

“It’s something no one had anticipated a decade ago.”

“十年前没人预料到会发生这种事。”