The Japanese media are currently obsessed with the notion of old people disappearing from the face of the Earth without anyone knowing about it, including loved ones.
The whole thing started when a public welfare worker in Tokyo's Adachi Ward became suspicious of a family who were being cagey about the whereabouts of a 111-year-old member. The volunteer reported her suspicions to the ward office, who visited the family and demanded to meet the centenarian. They discovered a mummified corpse occupying a room with stacks of old newspapers that indicated the body had been there for 30 years.
The macabre novelty was irresistible, and it has led to a never-ending stream of reports from other local governments that can't find their over-100s, though records indicate those people exist.