Tokyo's 'oldest man' found dead for 30 years

[Still Waters]

A man listed as the oldest living male in Tokyo died some 30 years ago, city officials said after his body was found mummified in his bed.

Police visited the home of Sogen Kato at the request of ward officials updating their list of centenarians ahead of Respect for the Elderly Day in September. Kato was born July 22, 1899, which would have made him 111.

Japanese welfare officials have tried to meet Kato since earlier this year, but his family members repeatedly chased them away, saying Kato was well but didn’t want to see anyone, said Tomoko Iwamatsu, an official at Tokyo’s downtown Adachi Ward, where Kato lived.

Officials grew suspicious and sought an investigation by police, who forced their way into the house Wednesday. Police said the mummified body believed to be Kato was lying in his bed, wearing underwear and pyjamas, covered with a blanket.

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[Eldorado]

Shame there's no pictures...would love to see his pyjamas.

[Raina]

From the article: "Tokyo police were investigating possible crimes on suspicion Kato’s family received pension money of the man and his dead wife."

I often wondered if cases such as this were because surviving family members didn't want to stop getting that monthly check.

[supervike]

From the article: "Tokyo police were investigating possible crimes on suspicion Kato’s family received pension money of the man and his dead wife."

I often wondered if cases such as this were because surviving family members didn't want to stop getting that monthly check.

Yep, occassionaly stories like that appear in the news....

[village_idiot]

So this dude dies 30 years ago and they left him right where he died!?

[DreamyEye]

We had a local case two or three years ago where a man had been kicked out of his house by his wife, but he still lived in a camper on their property. Some of the neighbors complained because the location was in city limits, and there was a code against living in a recreational vehicle. When the police investigated, they discovered the man had been dead in there for some time. The wife said she didn't know he had died, but the police were suspicious because she had been banking and using his pension money. No one had actually seen him for several months.

Then, on one of those true crime programs TRU TV shows (in the U.S.), there was a woman living in the suburbs. She and her boyfriend killed her husband while he was sleeping in his own bed. Then they closed the door and went on living in the house acting as though the husband wasn't there. No one was allowed to go into the bedroom, but everything else just went on as normal. It was over a year before police investigated. I can't remember what brought them to the house.

But 30 years? That's pretty extreme!

[kobolds]

mummified body

not rot ? is this possible in tokyo

[Drj312]

So this dude dies 30 years ago and they left him right where he died!?

lol weird. usually the family at least hides the body...

[Slorri]

his family members repeatedly chased them away, saying Kato was well but didn’t want to see anyone

I suppose that at least half of it was true... the bit about not wanting to see anyone.

[Gwynbleidd]

Good grief. That poor old fellow.

[Flamemagic]

Wow. The fact that they kept it up that long is surprising.

[27vet]

His grandchildren should have visited more often

[thewild]

lol denial... "He's just sleepin'"

[Dancingtiger]

The first several years would have been rank and nasty, with a lot of bugs you would think. Greed, or desperation even are pretty powerful to make you live with a dead body. Yuck, talk about un-hygienic.

[j b]

at least the smell would be gone

[thatgrimlife]

People are, as I've said multiple times, disgusting. That poor old man.

[brlesq1]

Guess they're gonna have to give back all that pension money...

[Mentalcase]

I wonder if they wanted him, to remain to be the oldest living male in china?

[Slorri]

I wonder if they wanted him, to remain to be the oldest living male in china?

Yes, or maybe the oldest dead male in Japan.