Japan boasts one of the highest overall life expectancies among nations. In 2009, the average life span for Japanese women was a whopping 86.44 years and that for men 79.59 years. The health ministry estimates the number of Japan's centenarians in fiscal 2010 at some 44,400 — a record. The population of centenarians has more than tripled in the past 10 years.
But these figures can be misleading about the real situation facing Japan's seniors. In July 2010, the mummified remains of a man, who was listed as still living at 111 years of age on the family register, was found by city officials in his home in Adachi Ward, Tokyo. He had been dead for some 30 years. His eldest daughter and granddaughter were arrested on suspicion of fraudulently collecting his pension benefits.
After this incident, hundreds of cases surfaced in which family members claimed to not know whether their elderly relatives were dead or alive because they lived apart, and local governments concerned did not know either.