80% of female inmates in Japan convicted on theft, drug charges

Prison for shopping! Really, what kind of a society is that?

Prison for hungry elderly women.

Japan society is losing its humanity.

Japanese society has never had much humanity as the answer to almost any problem here has been to ‘ganbare’

The elderly turning sixty plus have had a good run during their lives but now the economy is turning sour and prices are on an upward spiral.

The meager pensions tha most receive just won’t be enough for heating and decent food and clothing.

The constant worry leads to mental problems and the consumer brainwashing that Japanese grew up with result in more and more petty crime-disheartening…

Theft I get. But my guess is that most of the drug charges are bogus and shouldn't be illegal to begin with.

Around 80 percent of female inmates in Japan last year were convicted on charges of theft or violating drug laws, with the percentage remaining almost the same since 2011, according to the government's annual crime report.

So the vast majority non-violent and fueled by economic or psychological trauma.

This is more a condemnation of Japan's economic and social in justice system than these women.

Watched a recent video. Life in prison for women is much better than it is for men.

https://youtu.be/p8paAewtl0c?si=j1ffainITIa3T6zL

https://youtu.be/pvKretBLYOM?si=sDne5BCPFwK2kGlN

Why are thefts and drugs lumped in same category? Very different types of crime. And what are the respective rates compared to total female population?

Either a very bad survey or bad reporting of it.

""Of the women aged 60 or older convicted of theft, 38.7 percent were living alone, while the most common motive for stealing was "having trouble making ends meet" at 37.4 percent, lower than among the other age groups.""

Hard to believe that Japan with all of it's CASH being thrown around to support Wars and other useless projects can't keep it's elderly women desperate for help out of Poverty.

Saw once a very old woman being arrested by the police for stealing a can of beer from a shop. A single can. She probably didn't plan it because that shop has like 30 cameras hanging from the roof.

In the patro-ka she went. I thought it was a bit harsh to arrest her in the spot, but it looks like she may be serving time because of it.

OK, Japanese fat cat politicians. Now that you've identified the source of the problem, how about acting on it? You are paid enough. With soaring prices, crippling taxation and pensions that barely cover the rent, what else are they to do but steal?

I have mentioned this before and I seem to always get down voted but why is the govt spending trillions of yen on military weapons it does not need when that money can go to the elderly who worked for 60 years paying the taxes that they are now wasting on said weapons when they could use it to return the support and take care of them.

It is very clear in this story a vast majority of these crimes were committed not out of greed or dishonestly but out of desperation.

I don’t get the downvotes here for people that live in Japan and know the dire economic situation very well in the country.

Still as the saying goes ‘Ignorance is bliss’

and yet, ceos gets suspended sentences.

a two-tier system.

I don’t get the downvotes here for people that live in Japan and know the dire economic situation very well in the country.

It seems as a general rule on these types of forums is if somebody gets a downvote on a comment they tend to give everybody a downvote just because it "must have been" one of the other commenters who gave them the downvote.

It is very clear in this story a vast majority of these crimes were committed not out of greed or dishonestly but out of desperation.

Even though that seems to be the case the following applies "do the crime, do the time", unless of course you are a CEO then you get a suspended sentence.

I saw a documentary where a lot of the women prefer to be in prison because they said they have 3 good meals a day and they are not homeless.

Peter Neil, you forgot to include politicians who also get suspended sentences.

Lots of the older ones are probably just after 3 hots and a cot.

Among those convicted of theft, 95.9 percent of female inmates aged 60 or older had shoplifted, far above 48.3 percent among the males in the same age group, the survey showed.

Of the women aged 60 or older convicted of theft, 38.7 percent were living alone, while the most common motive for stealing was "having trouble making ends meet" at 37.4 percent, lower than among the other age groups.

A big part of the problem is lack of government support for them. Especially if they are widowed or unmarried. My mom-in-law was denied pension. Spent most of her time as a homemaker, and as unofficial employee of the dad-in-law's various businesses. Only later in life did she work a so-called proper job, and when pops passed a few years ago and left her with nothing, she was forced to try and deal with the government. She spent days being shuttled around various city hall officious officials and later many more days at a prefectural office before told she was just a hair shy of actually qualifying for any pension. So sorry. Buh bye.

Old Gals+ Old gals shoplifting 'cos no bucks= fat cat politicians?? Or, too many persons willing to read and not get involved with financing and helping in NGO's to give them an opportunity to do a bit of social (light stuff of course) so they can afford a beer. Did the survey reveal if the old gal had refused charity assistance? Eye Nose they do age = pride. If you got spare time guys pls get engaged, U nose who will need it later?

runner3Today 06:28 am JST

Prison for shopping! Really, what kind of a society is that

I think you are confusing the word "shopping" with the term "shoplifting." As far as I know, the former is legal and the latter is not. If you know of a business that allows robbery, that would be (good) news to a whole lot of people.

JeffLeeToday  08:24 am JST

Why are thefts and drugs lumped in same category? Very different types of crime.

They are more connected than you think. A lot of thefts, shoplifting and burglaries are done to feed the drug habit. It’s the same in every country. About half.

Some of these sentences could be served out within communities, the shop lifers, the drug users etc.

Many rural communities are desperate for workers......

Many manual production businesses could fully utilise many these miscreants instead of tax payers having to pay to lock them up.

It's the sort of problem that us ordinary folks can understand and foresee, but not so for the government wonks who made the system. Yes, generations ago one's children cared for elderly parents. But these extended family relations are less and less common. People have fewer children. Those children move away for work. Elderly are put in care facilities if the family can pay, or abandoned if money is an issue or if they are childless. When these traditional family structures break down, there is nothing to fill the void. These poor women are using the only options left to them.

They should all move to the UK, they wouldn't go to prison for shoplifting. The police won't even turn up to investigate if the theft is under £200. They just give the shop a crime number to claim on their insurance.

They should all move to the UK, they wouldn't go to prison for shoplifting.

Are you sure about that? I've read that about half of women in prison in the UK committed theft and most of that was shoplifting. The female prison population is about 4,000.

@kurisupisu,very unsettling indeed knowing some who worked most of their lives receiving unlivable pensions while some recipients of seikatsu hogo are getting more.

I'd like to see the same amount of sympathy shown towards male inmates that everyone is showing in their posts.

The prison population is very low compared with other countries.

"As of mid-2023, Japan's prison population was 40,881, including pre-trial detainees. This is a steady decline from 2013, when the prison population was approximately 63,000. The incarceration rate in Japan is 33.2 inmates per 100,000 people, which is also a downward trend over the past decade."

"In 2022, there were around 3,690 female inmates in Japan's penal institutions."

I really don't believe the present UK system/application of justice for "property crime, petty theft, shop lifting" is a world class example Japan should follow.

I walk my pets every day, early, still dark when I leave.

Garages are open, so sometimes access to property,

Communities value trust and honesty. It is a vital value to furnish unity.

So for a "few" to abuse that trust, law enforcement, judiciary will hand down harsh retribution.

I do feel that sentencing within a/the community can be a justified sentence, if a means justifies the end, offers clear advantages.

An opportunity for these convicted miscreants, the possibly the learn a trade, age allowing, a move to the countryside, a new environment, a new start.

Prison for shopping! Really, what kind of a society is that?

It's called shoplifting, mate. Results in business closures, job losses.

upward spiral.

Downwards, is where spirals go.

Saw once a very old woman being arrested by the police for stealing a can of beer from a shop. A single can. She probably didn't plan it because that shop has like 30 cameras hanging from the roof.

In the patro-ka she went. I thought it was a bit harsh to arrest her in the spot, but it looks like she may be serving time because of it.

Patro-ka. ? Serving time for stealing a can of beer? Bless you.

It's the sort of problem that us ordinary folks can understand and foresee, but not so for the government wonks who made the system. Yes, generations ago one's children cared for elderly parents. But these extended family relations are less and less common. People have fewer children. Those children move away for work. Elderly are put in care facilities if the family can pay, or abandoned if money is an issue or if they are childless. When these traditional family structures break down, there is nothing to fill the void. These poor women are using the only options left to them.

Bless

All just shows how truly messed up the legal/justice system is in this country. There is no justice.

There’s a lack of charitable people helping those in need in this country. Rather than try and help these women they find it easier to lock them up and label them bad eggs.