Japan’s Missing Centenarians Revive Flawed Pensions
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The disappearance of some of Japan’s oldest citizens is raising concern that some families are bilking the nation’s pension system even as others risk being deprived of payments for the same reason -- poor record keeping.
Officials in Tokyo are searching for the whereabouts of Fusa Furuya, listed as the city’s oldest woman, who would be 113 years if alive, after it came to light last week that Tokyo’s oldest listed man likely died more than 30 years ago. In 2007, the government came under fire after the welfare ministry lost millions of files related to the government-led pension system, stirring concern that citizens in the world’s fastest-aging nation might not receive payments they were due.