Why is an elderly crimewave gripping Japan? | Unreported World

Video Description

Unreported World is from Japan where prisons are becoming retirement homes for a growing number of elderly convicts. Krishnan Guru-Murthy investigates why a geriatric crime wave is gripping the country. As traditional multi-generational families break down, millions of elderly Japanese people are being left in isolation and poverty. With pensions failing to cover the rising cost of living, many are turning to petty theft to survive. As a result, Japan has seen a surge in elderly crime - one in four people arrested here are over 60. Guru-Murthy spends a day on the front line of this social crisis, joining Yu Itoh, a self-styled "G-man”, specialising in catching shoplifters. At a supermarket in Tokyo the store detective explains that up to 70 percent of those he catches are over 65, usually stealing everyday essentials. For some, like 94-year-old Fukuda, the desperation is so great they’ve committed serious crimes just to return to the warmth and security of a cell. But some elderly people are making novel uses of their age, selling their experience to young clients wanting an “instant grandma” to guide them in a modern Japan, where all generations are increasingly living alone. The government is now introducing rehabilitation programmes to give prisoners skills that will help them cope with life on the outside. — 0:00 Introduction 02:00 Catching the shoplifters 05:12 Desperate to go back to prison 6:23 Setting fire to a bin to get arrested 08:18 Rebuilding a life after jail 10:36 Why is there a rise in elderly prisoners? 12:52 Isolation after prison 14:02 Grandmas for hire 17:33 Homelessness in Japan 19:32 ‘I’m not proud of my life’ 21:35 Being a useful part of the community — Subscribe to our channel for more Unreported World episodes https://www.youtube.com/unreportedworld.