Confusion As Elderly Women in Japan Are Willing to Do Anything to Stay in Prison Indefinitely
Israel Adeleke
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports as gathered from CNN that the rising level of loneliness among Japan’s ageing population is pushing some elderly women to view life in prison as a better alternative to freedom.
OTN News further reports as gathered that at the largest women’s correctional facility in Japan, Tochigi Women’s Prison, inmates aged 65 and above make up a significant proportion of the population.
According to one of the prison officials who spoke with CNN, Takayoshi Shiranaga, some of the women prefer the companionship and stability offered within the prison walls as opposed to the loneliness outside the prison.
He explained, “There are even people who say they will pay 20,000 or 30,000 yen ($130-190) a month (if they can) live here forever
Inside the pastel-pink prison, elderly inmates receive regular meals, free healthcare, and eldercare services, along with the companionship they lack on the outside.
Many of these women have been imprisoned for theft, often driven by poverty. Government data shows that more than 80 per cent of elderly female inmates nationwide were jailed for shoplifting in 2022.
Highlighting the dire circumstances many elderly inmates face outside, Shiranaga said, “there are people who come here because it’s cold, or because they’re hungry,” he added that some inmates deliberately reoffend to access free medical care and basic necessities provided in prison.
Speaking, one of the inmates, an 81-year-old serving her second sentence for stealing food, said “There are very good people in this prison. Perhaps this life is the most stable for me,”
The 81-year-old who previously lived on a small pension that could not sustain her, said she felt hopeless before her arrest.
“If I had been financially stable and had a comfortable lifestyle, I definitely wouldn’t have done it,” she said.
She added that her financial struggles and isolation had left her feeling like there was no reason to live.
However, OTN News observes that according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 20% of people aged 65 and above in Japan live in poverty, significantly higher than the 14.2% average across its 38 member countries.
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