TOKYO, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- More than 230,000 Japanese citizens reported to be 100 or older are unaccounted for and authorities are undertaking an investigation to find out why.
A census of centenarians was ordered after authorities discovered the remains of a man believed to be Japan's oldest resident at his family home, the BBC reported.
The death was discovered when officials went to the home of Sogen Kato, to congratulate him on his 111th birthday. Instead they discovered his mummified body and learned he died 30 years ago. Had he been alive, he would have been Tokyo's oldest citizen.
Kato also received about $109,000 in benefits since his wife died six years ago, the report said, raising concerns the family fraudulently received the payments. The report didn't say who was cashing the benefit checks but that some of the money had been spent.
The BBC reported relatives of some of the people supposedly alive are suspected of cashing pension checks for many years.
The Justice Ministry said some of those unaccounted for would be 150 years old if alive and that many may have died as long ago as World War II.
About 20 percent of Japan's citizens are more than 65 years old, making it one of the world's fastest aging societies. In the past decade the number of centenarians has more than tripled, to 40,399, the BBC said.
