Why Japan’s Elderly are Increasingly Committed Crimes?

A Japan’s elderly in a prison (credit to Google)

When I was in Japan about 25 years ago, seniority means a “respect and role model.” Japanese word for senior is “senpai.” Younger can’t argue with them.

I never heard privately that seniors are going to jail on purposes. There were almost no news about wrong things did by seniors in mainstream medias.

Crime rate even lower in Japan compared to other industry countries such as USA, UK and Italy 25 years ago.

Surprisingly, medias around the globe reported that crime rate increased steadily not only to younger, but also to elderly in Japan recently.

We may have a question: Why Japan’s Elderly are Increasingly Committed to Crimes? Two main reasons are:

- Economic

- Social changes: elderly feel isolated from society

Japan elderly women sit on the park bench (credit to Google)

Economic reasons include cost of food, cloth, apartment rent (include heating) and health care. Japanese may bankrupt due to health care cost.

Japan society has changed a lot in the last two decades. Many people, especially older find themselves difficult to connect with society.

Loneliness not only due to society changes, the children also leave away from their parents to find economic opportunities in other cities.

What Japan’s elderly did in order to go to jail? Some simple things are:

- Come to police station with their stolen bikes.

- Bring a knife to a public garden or a park, then “pretend” to threat women.

- Shoplifting

Bizarre fact that the cost to custody in jail is extremely expensive compared to crime cost, as an example:

- Steal of US$ 1.84 could be sentenced for two years in jail. This two years punishment lead to budget spending of US$ 77 thousands.

Why not this US$ 77 thousand is given to elderly in forms such as low cost housing and free health care?

What do you think?