Japan's elderly choose a life of crime to avoid loneliness
In Japan, a troubling reality is unfolding. Elderly individuals are
turning to crime in search of companionship and a place where they won’t
die alone.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 exposed another, deeper crisis: loneliness.
While isolation affected everyone, the elderly – already at risk of being forgotten – felt it the most. Many fear dying alone, longing for connection in a world that often overlooks them.
Japan is noticing a surge in elderly female prisoners who are committing crimes just so they can avoid the pandemic of loneliness.
According to CNN, "The population here reflects the ageing society outside, and the pervasive problem of loneliness that guards say is so acute for some elderly prisoners that they’d prefer to stay incarcerated."
It’s a sobering reality when prison becomes a refuge – not for criminals, but for those simply seeking dignity, care, and human connection.
Inside prison, inmates receive regular meals, free healthcare, elderly care, and, most importantly, the companionship they long for outside.
Yoko, 51, has been incarcerated five times over 25 years for drug-related offences. She’s noticed the prison population ageing with each return.
“(Some people) do bad things on purpose and get caught so that they can come to prison again, if they run out of money,” she told CNN, which used a pseudonym for privacy.
Watch the video below – courtesy of Instagram.
Another inmate, Akiyo, 81, is serving her second prison sentence. Her first was in her 60s for stealing food, a crime driven by financial struggle. Living off a small pension, she has resorted to theft again.
"If I had been financially stable and had a comfortable lifestyle, I definitely wouldn’t have done it," she told CNN correspondents.
Without family support, Akiyo lost hope for the future. Her own son, 43, who lived with her before she went to jail, often told her he wished she would “just go away”.
Japan’s prison population is ageing rapidly, with inmates aged 65 and older quadrupling from 2003 to 2022. This has forced the authorities to adapt the process of incarceration.
“Now we have to change their diapers, help them bathe, eat,” Takayoshi Shiranaga, an officer at Tochigi Women’s Prison, told CNN.
“At this point, it feels more like a nursing home than a prison full of convicted criminals.”
They have also noted that there is a need for rehabilitation after inmates are released from prison, as many don't have a support structure.
Efforts have been made for programs to be implemented, which are aimed at assisting inmates with independent living, substance recovery and how to navigate their familial relationships.
Image Courtesy of iStock