Source: www.nytimes.com
TOKYO, JAPAN, August 14, 2010: 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. Most elders are missing. Government records have proven to be old and inaccurate. Japanese society is in shock.
For the moment, there are no clear answers about what happened to most of the missing centenarians. Is the country witnessing the results of pension fraud on a large scale, or, as most officials maintain, was most of the problem a result of sloppy record keeping? Or is it a reflection of disintegrating family ties?
Some health experts say these cases reflect strains in a longeve society that expects children to care for their parents. Longer life spans mean that children are called upon to take care of their elderly parents at a time when the children are reaching their 70s and are possibly in need of care themselves.
Meanwhile, in a painful self-reflection, Japan is realizing it may have far fewer centenarians than previously thought.