More centenarians unaccounted for after local gov't searches+

TOKYO, Aug. 4 Kyodo - Municipalities across the country moved to account for centenarians registered in their jurisdictions Wednesday, and have been unable to locate 33 of them so far in over a dozen prefectures from Hokkaido to Fukuoka, according to a Kyodo News tally that shed more light on problems in public welfare services for the
elderly in a nation known for its longevity.

The move was prompted by the discovery last week of a mummified body thought to
be of Tokyo's oldest man at age 111 and the subsequent failure by a ward office
to locate a woman thought to be the oldest person in the capital at age 113.
Tokyo police on Wednesday ordered their 102 stations to seek aid from other
stations across the country in tracking down missing centenarians in their
jurisdictions if they believe the elderly are likely to have been involved in
incidents or some sorts of crimes.
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Akira Nagatsuma, meanwhile, plans to launch
investigations soon into the whereabouts of pension recipients who would be 110
or older across Japan and to announce the results by the end of this month.
In the case of Fusa Furuya, the purported oldest woman in Tokyo, the
metropolitan government has wired money to her account as benefits for a
bereaved family for about half a century since the death of her husband, a
former metro government employee, officials said Wednesday.
Police will look into whether the money has been withdrawn, given that the
money may have totaled tens of millions of yen by now, police officials said.
Furuya's 79-year-old daughter, who has lived in an apartment in Tokyo's
Suginami Ward registered as her residence, told ward officials that her
mother's account book is managed by her brother, who lives elsewhere, possibly
with Furuya, according to the officials.
In the city of Nagano, a man regarded as the oldest person in Nagano Prefecture
at 110 has been unaccounted for 30 years, the municipal government said.
The man's son, who is in his 70s, said his father moved to Shizuoka Prefecture
30 years ago and that they have not been in contact since, according to the
government.
In Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, the whereabouts of a man and a woman, both of whom
would be 100 if they were alive, are unknown, according to the city government.
City officials have found that the man does not reside at his registered
address. Meanwhile, the woman's 50-year-old granddaughter, who was registered
as living with her, told the city government last year that she has never
resided with her grandmother, the officials said.
In Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, the whereabouts of an elderly man who would be
104, the city's oldest person, is unknown. The man's family reported him
missing to a family court for the adjudication of his disappearance, the city
government said.
In Soka, Saitama Prefecture, a man who would be 100 is missing and his son said
the man disappeared after leaving home about 20 years ago, according to the
city government.
In Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, the city government lost track of three
centenarians. City officials visited their registered residences but found that
they are not living there, the city government said.
Other prefectures where centenarians have been unaccounted for include Ibaraki,
Chiba, Aichi, Kyoto, Wakayama, Fukuoka and Oita.
==Kyodo