Give Up Blog

Monday, April 17, 2006

Japanese prison sounds like fun

I continue my reign of insensitivity by suggesting imprisonment in Japan might be fun. I'm still reeling from when I was chastised for not fully sympathizing with the Nigerian hostages, who'd have thunk it.

ONOMICHI, Japan -- In a spotless prison ward here, inmates while away their free time reading large-print samurai novels and singing golden oldies on karaoke. Support rails and metal walkers help them ease into soothing steam baths and do light daily chores. After dining on low-sodium suppers in their rooms, most of the fragile felons curl up for the night with freshly filled hot-water bottles.

Their prisons sound like retirement homes, because they are. Apparently, tons of crime in Japan is coming from the blue-hairs. You remember that Seinfeld episode where Uncle Leo was shoplifting in the bookstore because all the old people were doing it? Well, apparently this is a now problem in Japan too.

Japanese over 60 now represent the country's fastest growing group of lawbreakers, with the soaring rate of senior delinquents far exceeding their growth in the general population. The number of those age 70 and older who have been charged has increased the most -- doubling in just four years to a record 21,324 in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available. By comparison, juvenile arrests edged up only 2.2 percent during the same period, according to the National Police Agency.

Given it leads to imprisonment in such fine free digs, who'd pass that up. It also sounds like old Japanese people might just be totally crazy for some unknown reason.

Japan has the world's longest life expectancy-- 82 years -- and the highest percentage of seniors, with almost one in five Japanese now 65 or older. But officials are also citing an outbreak of geriatric crime, including a spike in first-time offenders committing anything from petty theft to murder.
...
"Like junior high school students, some older people have the money to pay for things, but they are stealing anyway because they want attention from their families," said Hiroshi Shojima, professor of criminal psychology at Fukushima University. "But it is also true that Japanese prisons are comparatively comfortable. They are spotlessly clean and generally free of violence. If you are a lonely and struggling old person, that atmosphere can be tempting."

I can get the petty theft. After all, if you get caught, you can just act senile. But murder? Then again, Junior Soprano might get away with attempted murder due to senility. And what's with this regression to "junior high school" in old age? I'm now looking forward to turning 60. I'll start smoking pot by the 7-11 and pissing on cop cars. Only I'll have to move to Japan first.

It gets weirder.

The vast majority of crimes being committed by seniors are nonviolent -- usually shoplifting or other types of petty theft. In some instances, "grandpa bandits" are acting together -- last February, police in southwestern Japan arrested three men, ages 71, 69 and 67, for allegedly organizing a purse-snatching ring.

Ok, if I'm 70 and I join a gang of elderly toughs, I'll officially be able to die completely satisfied with my life. But still, this is crazy. Can you imagine your grandparents acting this way? What is it about Japanese society that would generate this trend? I'm really curious, they talk about "veneration of elders" but why would such a privileged viewpoint of old people lead to rampant elderly crime?

1 Comments:

Castle Eagle said...

Japanese prisons sounds as much fun as Japanese pleb life.

THe oldies are doing it because they're the only ones with any balls in this country. The younger generations have all completely castrated by the stifling education system, throttling bureaucracy and suffocating company culture ubiquitous to modern Japan.

The economic empire was built by that generation that didn't have formal schooling, during and straight after the war years.

The original empire was founded and fought for by the generation of men (and women) of the time when rule bound feudal, samurai Japan fell and the new centralised power of the reinstated emperor was established.

Japan today full of no-balled, cowering, vague and dottering fools who have not the courage or the nouse to right the wrongs and boot the massive, corrupt and all-powerful bureaucracy out of power. Everyone is happy to follow, by there are no leaders.

In contrast, the generations now in their 70-90s have seen Japan freewheel from dirt poor and shoeless to extravagant and full of Italian leather shoes and Louis Vuitton purses. Some of the oldies have had a wild ride of it and a good time, however quite a few have selflessly worked throughout and passed on all the reward to their spoilt grandkids.
Maybe some of them have realised their kids and grandkids are ungrateful little brats and have decided to go for gold and help themselves?
Or perhaps the blokes who have been having a great time throughout have suddenly found the money's all been blown by the bureaucrats and their stupid kids, and are stealing to make the ends of their good life meet?
However my guess would be that shit is just too expensive and the stealing is a form of protest. Pensioners have worked their balls off here to build a wealthy nation, only to see all the inherited wealth wasted by sly handed politicos. The consequence is the national savings fund for pensions actually been empty. Government is cutting pensions. Food and basic prices, taxes continue to inflate despite deflating wages. The government slashed interest rates a decade ago in an attempt to head off a depression / recover from recession. The result is oldies with reducing pensions, reducing capital from 0% interest rates and rising living costs from tax and food price inflation. They're being shafted both ways, and as the generation that built it all they get up and do something about it, stealing back from the brats who are getting it all for free and spoiling it.
Hell, if I was in their situation I would do the same, wouldn't buy anything ever again given how easy it is in this country to shoplift.

As for the no-brainer tea leaf junior high kids being nicked, I hope the little zitty punks don't find prison fun at all. However at least they have a bit of steel in them and are fighting the oncoming doom.
Viva la revolution!

1:20 AM, October 25, 2006