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Sogen Kato

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2010 Japanese fraud case

Sogen Kato<br>加藤 宗現Born(1899-07-22)22 July 1899[1]Diedc. November 1978(1978-11-00) (aged 79)[2]<br>Adachi, Tokyo,[3] Japan<br>Cause of death<br>Claimed by relatives to be Sokushinbutsu; undetermined according to official autopsy[2][4]<br>Sogen Kato (加藤 宗現, Katō Sōgen; 22 July 1899 – c. November 1978) was a Japanese man thought to have been Tokyo's oldest man until July 2010, when his mummified corpse was found in his bedroom. It was concluded he had likely died in November 1978, aged 79, and his family had never reported his death. Relatives had rebuffed attempts by ward officials to see Kato in preparations for Respect for the Aged Day later that year, citing many reasons from him being a "human vegetable" to becoming a sokushinbutsu (Buddhist mummy). An autopsy could not determine the cause of Kato's death.

The discovery of Kato's remains sparked a search for other missing centenarians lost due to poor recordkeeping by officials. A study following the discovery of Kato's remains found that police did not know if 234,354 people over the age of 100 were still alive. Poor recordkeeping was to blame for many of the cases, officials admitted. One of Kato's relatives was found guilty of fraud; his relatives claimed ¥9,500,000 (US$117,939; £72,030) of the pension meant for Kato.

History<br>[edit]

Discovery of the body<br>[edit]

An illustration of where Kato's mummified body was discovered. (1) Location of where the body was found; (2) Newspaper from 1978; (3) Rotary dial telephone; (4) Main entrance.[note 1]<br>Adachi, Tokyo, where Kato's body was found<br>After tracking down the residence in Adachi, Tokyo,[3] where Kato was reportedly living, attempts by officials to meet him were rebuffed numerous times by the family. Many reasons were given by his relatives, including that he was a "human vegetable"[6][7] and that he was becoming a sokushinbutsu.[4]

Eventually, Kato's body was found by police and ward officials on Wednesday, 27 July 2010, when ward officials intending to honour his achievement of longevity on Respect for the Aged Day later that year were again rebuffed and police broke into the house.[3][8] Found in a first floor room, Kato's mummified remains were lying on a bed wearing underwear and pajamas and were covered with a blanket.[1] Newspapers that were found in the room dated back three decades to the Shōwa period, suggesting that Kato's death may have occurred around November 1978.[9] An official named Yutaka Muroi said, "His family must have known he has been dead all these years and acted as if nothing happened. It's so eerie."[8]

The day after the visit, Kato's granddaughter told an acquaintance that "my grandfather shut himself in a room on the first floor of our home 32 years ago, and we couldn't open the door from the outside. My mother said, 'Leave him in there,' and he was left as he was. I think he's dead."[6] One official had reported concerns about Kato's safety earlier in the year to his ward office.[9] An autopsy failed to determine the cause of Kato's death.[2][4]

Fraud trial<br>[edit]

Following the discovery of Kato's body, two of his relatives were arrested in August 2010, and subsequently charged with fraud.[10] Prosecutors alleged that Michiko Kato, 81, Kato's daughter, and Tokimi Kato, 53, his granddaughter, fraudulently received about ¥9,500,000 ($117,939; £72,030) of pension money.[4][7] In addition, after Kato's wife died in 2004 at the age of 101, ¥9,450,000 ($117,318; £71,651) from a survivor's mutual pension was deposited into Kato's bank account between October 2004 and June 2010. Approximately ¥6,050,000 ($75,108; £45,872) was withdrawn before his body was discovered. Kato was likely paid a senior welfare benefit from the time he turned 70, which the family may also have used to their advantage.[6] Investigators said that the pair defrauded the Japan Mutual Aid Association of Public School Teachers, who transferred the money into Kato's account.[8]

In November 2010, the Tokyo District Court sentenced Tokimi Kato to a 2½ year sentence for fraud, suspended for four years. Judge Hajime Shimada said, "The defendant committed a malicious crime with the selfish motive of securing revenue for her family. However, she has paid back the pension benefits and expressed remorse for the crime."[11]

Aftermath<br>[edit]

After the discovery of Kato's mummified corpse, other checks into elderly centenarians across Japan produced reports of missing centenarians and faulty recordkeeping. Tokyo officials attempted to find the oldest woman in the city, 113-year-old Fusa Furuya, who was registered as living with her daughter. Furuya's daughter said she had not seen her mother for over 25 years.[12] The...