Dying alone in world's most populous city

TOKYO - The stench of flesh rotting on a sultry day fills the air as a cleaner steps into a tiny Tokyo apartment where a dead man lay decomposing for three weeks.

The man, believed to be in his 50s, died alone in a city he shared with tens of millions of other people but no one noticed, making him the latest victim of "kodokushi" or "dying alone" - a growing trend in aging Japan.

Kodokushi is a growing problem in Japan, where 28 percent of the population is aged over 65 and many people are giving up trying to find partners in middle age, opting instead for a solitary existence.