One year on: Husband's tireless search for missing wife with dementia

He printed new missing person posters with photos of Yasuko in the spring, asking attendants to display them at Shimane train stations as well as convenience stores, gasoline stations and other prominent places.

But Kyodo News didn't think it'd be helpful to add them to the article?

Dementia in Japan is a growing problem and public awareness needs to be much higher.

My great grandmother had dementia, and for a time, she went missing for months and my relatives couldn't find her. She was returned after almost nine months by kind strangers who asked her where her remaining relatives are. It turned out that she attempted to return to her hometown 60 kilometers away and got there through hitchhiking and walking, all while living off the kindness of other people. She looked like a mess when she came back.

When she finally returned to us, she sadly no longer recognized us and lived the rest of her life feeling like a stranger to her family. It's a sad tale, and I hope nobody had to go through this. Take care of your mental health and probably consider ID bracelets or even tattoos on your loved ones when they start to have dementia. It's easier and quicker than having to file a missing person report.

Poor guy, his life must be torture. Dementia is an awful thing for the people themselves and of course for their loved ones. I hope Tsutomu finds some relief and closure, but I fear the worst for Yasuko.

Have they checked the Pachinko parlours in the area?

The article mentions the huge and increasing number of missing persons.

Did they never come back ?

Number of bodies to be found will be a problem. It seems it is such a taboo no authority in Japan is taking care of that issue. And it is just the beginning since graying of the population is increasing.

There is a field right after the backyard of my parent’s place.

One day, my father smell some unusual foul odor while working in his garden.

The next day, police had created 10 meters away the garden a safe area under investigation. The body of a person in that field, with corn that year, had been found. My parents learned that person had been wandering from far because of dementia and died there without a noise...

What an awful thing. Poor guy.

I remember reading about a similar thing happening somewhere in the US, where an old woman with dementia had gone missing and was eventually found to have fallen into a small creek nearby and been swept away. I hope this is not the case here and that she will be found safe somewhere.

People with loved ones with dementia should tag them so they can be traced.

I don't think Tsutomu should be so hard on himself. Waiting half a day to report her missing was not excessively late.

I would've thought she'd be at the supermarket or going on one of her walks which she often did solo.

I hope they find Yasuko unharmed and reunite her with her husband.

Heartbreaking story, and sadly not uncommon in aging Japan now.

I hope Mr Arakawa can soon get some closure and find out what happened to his beloved wife.

It is hard to believe she has been missing so long without any recent signs. Can only think of foul play or an accident. I hope he gets her back or some closure soon. Demetia is an awful killer. My dad died with it after 3 years of being diagnosed. His was one of the luckier cases as he didn't last too long.

Her eldest son realized something was wrong when she described a crow she had seen as "the black thing."

I do this all the time. Hopefully not a sign.