Japan, Checking on Its Oldest, Finds Many Gone

[groovedaddy]

TOKYO — Japan has long boasted of having many of the world’s oldest people — testament, many here say, to a society with a superior diet and a commitment to its elderly that is unrivaled in the West.

That was before the police found the body of a man thought to be one of Japan’s oldest, at 111 years, mummified in his bed, dead for more than three decades. His daughter, now 81, hid his death to continue collecting his monthly pension payments, the police said.

Alarmed, local governments began sending teams to check on other elderly residents. What they found so far has been anything but encouraging.

A woman thought to be Tokyo’s oldest, who would be 113, was last seen in the 1980s. Another woman, who would be the oldest in the world at 125, is also missing, and probably has been for a long time. When city officials tried to visit her at her registered address, they discovered that the site had been turned into a city park, in 1981.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/world/asia/15japan.html?th&emc=th

[phantom power]

1. Err.... trust but verify?

[golfguru]

2. Wonder how many dead Americans are collecting SS

since SS Admin requires no verification that the retiree is alive.

Of course I am talking about spouses and relatives collecting and
spending the checks. Most cases it is not even checks, it is just
direct deposit in the bank account.

[wishlist]

3. Social Sec Admin does verify that older retirees are still alive

I worked with SS over 10 years ago and we did make personal contacts to verify that all people over a certain age (I don't recall the age) were still alive. Also SS receives official death notices in almost all cases without having to rely upon death reports from family members so checks are promptly stopped. The only case in my area where I can remember a fraud problem was when a son buried his dad in the backyard and continued cashing the checks but this was discovered when our SS rep could not determine the whereabouts of the recipient and son was evasive but checks were continuing to be cashed so our office contacted local police and Secret Service.