CHIBA -- A woman in her late 60s was rescued from a garbage-filled room in northwestern Chiba Prefecture in May last year with her feet blackened in a state of necrosis, it has been learned.

It is suspected that the woman fell into a state of self-neglect due to a waning desire to live. Experts say it is possible for anyone to succumb to self-neglect, for reasons as simple as not wanting to be cared for by anyone else, and warn that as Japan's population ages, similar cases could arise if the issue is left unaddressed.

According to the local body in the area where the woman's home is located, she had been living with her husband, aged in his 70s, and their daughter in her 30s. Her husband had cancer, and when a doctor visited the home in April last year, he noticed a room filled with garbage on the second floor, and notified local authorities. The woman's husband died soon afterward, but she did not attend the funeral. A local government worker approached her daughter, asking to see her mother. The daughter refused, however, saying that her mother had no interest in meeting anyone.

Officials investigated and found that the woman had previously received regular medical checkups, but she hadn't been for about the past year and a half. The local body subsequently notified police. Officers asked around and residents told them that they hadn't seen the woman recently. As they were able to assume that her life or health was in danger, several officers entered the home on May 12 together with health workers.

The woman was found lying on her back under a huge pile of rubbish including plastic bags and bottles, yoghurt cups, and aluminum foil in which rice balls had been wrapped, with just her face showing. When police called out to her, she said, "I'm all right," but couldn't move.

A rescue truck was called out, and the woman was taken to the hospital. The tips of her feet were black in a state of necrosis.

Officials said the woman's daughter had carried food to her and she had worn diapers instead of going to the bathroom. At the time of her rescue, the daughter tearfully said, "I didn't know who to talk to about my mother." The woman remains hospitalized.

Self-neglect is used to describe situations in which a person's desire to live or powers of judgment deteriorate due to the shock of losing a spouse, depression, dementia and other such reasons, and in which their health is affected by remaining in an unsanitary environment, but they don't seek others' help.

A survey released in March 2011 by research company NLI Research Institute showed that 609 of 765 people who were known to have died alone over a one-year period, or 79.6 percent, were suspected to have fallen into a state of self-neglect.

Shohei Kawagoe, a doctor in Chiba Prefecture who is familiar with health issues relating to the elderly, commented, "This woman's case is not a special one. For example, if an elderly person living alone on the third floor of an apartment building injures their knee and is unable to easily go out, then it's also no easy task to take the garbage out. There are quite a few people who lack the power to seek help, as they feel too sorry to seek help from authorities.

"The woman's daughter was probably in a fix too. It's important for specialists to visit people in their homes even if they are not called out. That will effectively reduce the cost on society."