NEWS / Over 200 allegedly fraudulent death certificates uncovered in Japan

Over 200 supposedly fraudulent death certificates have been discovered in a search of a hospital in Japan. These death certificates had the name of a doctor with dementia, and officials believe some of these certificates were issued in an attempt to conceal the murder of a patient.

The documents were found in April 2023 at the Michinoku Kinen Hospital during an investigation into the fatal stabbing of a patient and the attempted cover-up allegedly orchestrated by hospital director Takashi Ishiyama and his brother, physician Tetsu Ishiyama.

The certificate for the stabbing victim lists “pneumonia” as the cause of the death, The Asahi Shimbun reports.

The periodical reports that “pneumonia” was also listed as the cause of death in 70 percent of death certificates issued between April 2021 and March 2023 under the name of a doctor who had been hospitalized for dementia.

Police arrested the Ishiyama brothers on February 14 and are currently investigated other allegations of malpractice at the hospital.

On the night of March 12, 2023, a 59-year-old patient at the hospital was attacked by another 73-year-old patient with the latter stabbing him in the eye with a toothbrush. The patient died the following day, and the attacker was arrested and sentenced to 17 years in prison for murder.

The victim’s family then received a death certificate listing “pneumonia” as the cause of death.

The hospital was exempt from having a doctor on duty as a doctor’s residence was located nearby. However, it is unclear where the Ishiyama brothers were located the night of the murder. It appears that the death certificate was deliberately falsified in order to conceal evidence of negligence on the part of the hospital, and the Ishiyama brothers in particular.