When officials visited Tokyo’s oldest man to congratulate him on his 11th birthday they found he had been dead for 30 years.
It is reported that Sogen Kato’s uncovered mummified skeletal remains lying in his bed.
The authorities had grown suspicious as earlier attempts to visit the man in Adachi had failed as his granddaughter told them he “doesn’t want to see anybody”.
Mr Kato’s relatives told police that he had “confined himself in his room more than 30 years ago and became a living Buddha,” according to a report by Jiji Press.
The family now face investigations of fraud as they had received 9.5 million yen ($109,000: £70,000) in widower’s pension payments via Mr Kato’s bank account since his wife died six years ago.
