Ageing Japanese prove rich pickings for investment fraud

Tokyo

A GROWING number of retirees in Japan are falling victim to fraud, underscoring a downside of promoting personal investment in the world's most aged nation.

Combating the problem is a rising challenge for the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as it encourages Japanese households to shift more of their 1,654 trillion yen (S$18.73 trillion) in assets out of savings accounts and into investments that boost the economy.