declared death without a body
Legal term for a death declaration made when a body cannot be found or identified, often after a disaster or disappearance.
In large-scale disasters, declared death without a body may be carried out for missing persons.
死亡認定 is a more general term for determining death, while 認定死亡 specifically refers to a legal declaration of death without physical confirmation of a body.
Compound of 認定 (にんてい, 'recognition, certification') and 死亡 (しぼう, 'death'). The term is a modern legal coinage.