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Japan's Prisons Are a Haven for Elderly Women
Every aging society faces distinct challenges. But Japan, with the world's oldest population (27.3 percent of its citizens are 65 or older, almost twice the share in the U.S.), has been dealing with one it didn't foresee: senior crime. Complaints and arrests involving elderly people, and women in particular, are taking place at rates above those of any other demographic group. Almost 1 in 5 women in Japanese prisons is a senior. Their crimes are usually minor—9 in 10 senior women who've been convicted were found guilty of shoplifting.
Why have so many otherwise law-abiding elderly women resorted to petty theft? Caring for Japanese seniors once fell to families and communities, but that's changing. From 1980 to 2015, the number of seniors living alone increased more than sixfold, to almost 6 million. And a 2017 survey by Tokyo's government found that more than half of seniors caught shoplifting live alone; 40 percent either don't have family or rarely speak with relatives. These people often say they have no one to turn to when they need help.
[...] Neither the government nor the private sector has established an effective rehabilitation program for seniors, and the costs to keep them in prison are rising fast. Expenses associated with elder care helped push annual medical costs at correctional facilities past 6 billion yen (more than $50 million) in 2015, an 80 percent increase from a decade before. Specialized workers have been hired to help older inmates with bathing and toileting during the day, but at night these tasks are handled by guards.
At some facilities, being a correctional officer has come to resemble being a nursing-home attendant. Satomi Kezuka, a veteran officer at Tochigi Women's Prison, about 60 miles north of Tokyo, says her duties now include dealing with incontinence. "They are ashamed and hide their underwear," she says of the inmates. "I tell them to bring it to me, and I will have it washed." More than a third of female correctional officers quit their jobs within three years.
[...] [Ms. N, age 80:] "I can't tell you how much I enjoy working in the prison factory. The other day, when I was complimented on how efficient and meticulous I was, I grasped the joy of working. I regret that I never worked. My life would have been different. I enjoy my life in prison more. There are always people around, and I don't feel lonely here. When I got out the second time, I promised that I wouldn't go back. But when I was out, I couldn't help feeling nostalgic."
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(Score: 2) by fritsd on Monday March 26 2018, @04:44PM (1 child)
Wow, I had no idea that Zen buddhism and Shintoïsm were so strict...
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday March 27 2018, @01:54AM
I wish it were as simple as a idiotic religious belief system. It's isn't.
Many people don't have the willingness to empathize with other people. Religion doesn't play any part except being used as an excuse for their beliefs. Shinto would require that you care for your parents, and Christianity would require that you give to the less fortunate. But both have other concerns also which the focused can use to justify actions directly in opposition to the nominal beliefs.
Part of this is that old people become disgusting. They lose control of their bowels. Their skin become ugly. Etc. People who have a strong reaction to something disgusting will find an excuse to refuse assistance to them, even indirectly. If they are vocally religious, the excuse is likely to be religious, but it's an excuse, and often (usually) directly in opposition to the actual tradition of the religion.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.