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Usually tasked with cleaning up the aftermath of a suicide, the coronavirus has created a boom for specialist cleaners.

In graying Japan, biohazard cleanup has traditionally been sought at the scenes of 'kodokushi' (solitary deaths), where people, especially older people, die alone and sometimes remain undiscovered until decomposition has already set in.

The number of individuals certified by the Crime Scene Special Clean Center as 'crime scene cleaning specialists' has been on the rise in recent years, totaling 11,000 as of September — more than a tenfold jump from the 913 accredited in 2013.

"Back then, the novel coronavirus was thought to be much more deadly than it is today, so we felt as if we were going off to a war or something," said Ryosuke Otake, president of the Unisons cleaning company.

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