❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Japan’s prisons are holding more older inmates

Ed Butler Feb 5, 2019
HTML EMBED:
COPY
An entrance of Tokyo's Fuchu Prison, Japan's biggest male-only correctional house. KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images

Japan’s prisons are holding more older inmates

Ed Butler Feb 5, 2019
An entrance of Tokyo's Fuchu Prison, Japan's biggest male-only correctional house. KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Japan’s population is aging rapidly. We’ve been looking into some of the ramifications of Japan’s aging population with our partners at the BBC. But living longer doesn’t necessarily mean living well. In Japan there is a bit of an old-age crime wave born out of desperation and poverty. Almost 20 percent of Japan’s prison population is now over the age of 60. Compare that to the United States, where only 6 percent of prisoners are of advanced age.

Click on the audio player above to hear the full story.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.