Crimes committed by Japan's elderly have increased sharply, with arrests of 65-year-olds and above up from 5.8% of total arrests in 2005 to 20% 10 years later. Prisons are beginning to resemble nursing homes as older criminals' care needs begin to dominate staff's daily routines. Japan's elderly are increasingly feeling alienated, with some understood to see prison as an upgrade on their daily lives. Within the decade, that rate had risen to 20%,the AFP reports. Most Japanese firms still rely on a lifetime employment structure so once older people leave, they find it hard to reclaim their place and can end up in badly paid, low skilled jobs. The government has tried to address the problem through measures such as raising retirement ages for men and women but these don't seem to be working.
Crimes committed by Japan's elderly have increased sharply, with arrests of 65-year-olds and above up from 5.8% of total arrests in 2005 to 20% 10 years later. Prisons are beginning to resemble nursing homes as older criminals' care needs begin to dominate staff's daily routines. Japan's elderly are increasingly feeling alienated, with some understood to see prison as an upgrade on their daily lives. Most Japanese firms still rely on a lifetime employment structure so once older people leave, they find it hard to reclaim their place and can end up in badly paid, low skilled jobs. The government has tried to address the problem through measures such as raising retirement ages for men and women but these don't seem to be working.