TOKYO, March 2 (UPI) -- In Japan, more than $220 million in welfare benefits went to ineligible households over a five-year period, Mainichi Shimbun reported Wednesday.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced that from fiscal 1999 to 2003, there were 34,813 cases of ineligible families receiving welfare funds.
In fiscal 1999, $31.5 million in welfare benefits was paid out to ineligible families. The figure rose to some $38.2 million in fiscal 2000, $44.9 million in fiscal 2001, $50.6 million the following fiscal year, and $55.4 million in 2003, according to data collected by the newspaper.
The ministry has recovered only about $42.4 million, or about 20 percent, of the amount.
In some 60 percent of cases, households either falsely reported to the ministry that they had no income or underreported their income.
Another 35.9 percent of families hid or underreported income coming from pensions or insurance benefits.
