A Korean man living in Japan has reportedly adopted 554 children
in order to claim 86 million yen in annual child support
payments.
The man, said to be a Korean in his fifties, approached the
benefits office at the city of Amagasaki in Hyogo prefecture, where
he enquired about the possibility of claiming child support for his
children.
He introduced his Thai wife and explained that the couple, in
addition to their own child, were now the legal guardians of all
the orphans at a Thai monastery, and had the official documents to
prove it.
He presented a list containing the details of 554 children – the
clerk reportedly asked “Which child is yours?” to which he replied
“All of them.”
Japan’s DPJ administration recently passed a law providing free
money to parents based on the number of children they have.
However, shortly after being passed it was realised that a major
loophole had been left in the incompetently drafted law, as there
was no upper limit on the amount that could be claimed or the
number of children who could be claimed for.
Worse yet, the law allows parents to claim for children not
living in Japan, and is available to non-Japanese residents of
Japan (which is essentially reasonable as they have to pay the same
taxes and national insurance contributions as Japanese).
Japan’s generally highly xenophobic right wing soon began
spreading fanciful tales of benefits offices crammed with Chinese
immigrants trying to claim a fortune in benefits for their
non-existent families overseas.
These tales were soon disproven, but this case seems to
demonstrate a kernel of truth – when the man approached the
benefits office, he was able to claim a monthly allowance of
¥13,000 for each child, yielding an annual income of 86,580,000,
nearly a million dollars.
Although legally entitled to the funds, the embarrassed Ministry
of Health, Labour and Welfare said it would be “impossible” to
provide him with the money, “as they are not living together.”
There is apparently no legal basis for denying him the funds,
however.
Just what will become of the 554 orphans is not recorded.