Wandering Off: People with Dementia Go Missing

More than 10,000 people with dementia go missing in Japan every year after wandering away from home. NHK programme makers investigated dementia sufferers who have gone missing in the past five years, spoke with the families of those people, and conducted national surveys to gain information from police, local governments, and dementia sufferers’ careers. The film shows that wandering brought on by dementia often leads to death and sheds light on the sorrow and desperation of those who search for missing relatives. It is the first Japanese television programme to focus on dementia sufferers who were taken into care while wandering and have since spent years in nursing homes without being able to identify themselves. The broadcast led to Japan’s health ministry launching its first nationwide investigation into missing people. Two unidentified dementia sufferers were reunited with relatives. The National Police launched new investigative measures.