
日本是世界老龄人口最多的国家之一。去年12月,美国国家卫生统计中心还将日本评为全世界最适宜养老的国家。日本冲绳也是世界闻名的养老圣地,这里的长寿老人比比皆是,幸福指数也很高。然而据CNN近日报道,日本也有不少老人的生活处境堪忧,令人触目惊心。
在日本最大的女子监狱里,老年囚犯的数量日益增多。据CNN报道,从2003年到2022年,65岁及以上老年女性囚犯的数量几乎翻了两番。当今时代,孤独已经成为一种席卷全球的症状,很多日本老年女性在经济上和社会上孤立无助,只得铤而走险,通过主动犯罪入狱来寻求群体归属感和他人的帮助。
以今年81岁的秋代(为保护隐私,此处使用化名)为例,她因在商店偷窃食品而入狱服刑。
秋代在接受CNN采访时说:“这座监狱里有很多好人,或许这样的生活对我来说才是最安稳的。”
在这些老年囚犯眼中,囚友的陪伴,监狱的定时三餐和免费的医疗护理,都对她们有着强烈的吸引力。虽然囚犯得在监狱工厂劳作,但这也不能阻止她们奔向监狱。
去年9月,东京枥木女子监狱的狱警白永贵义(音译)在接受CNN采访时表示:“甚至有人说,只要能永远住在这儿,她们甚至愿意每月付给监狱2万到3万日元。”
白永贵义还表示:“有些人是因为饥寒交迫才来到这里的。而且生病的人在监狱里能获得免费治疗,但一旦她们出狱,就得自己掏钱看病,所以有些人想待在这里越久越好。”
我犯罪,因为我想活
对一些老年女性而言,她们之所以犯罪,只是因为她们想活着。经合组织的报告显示,日本65岁以上的老年人中,有两成生活在贫困线以下。据CNN报道,盗窃是日本老年囚犯中最常见的犯罪行为。日本政府的数据也显示,2022 年,全日本超过80%的老年女性囚犯都是因为盗窃而入狱的。
秋代60多岁的时候,就曾因为盗窃食物而入狱。而过了将近20年之后,走投无路的秋代再次因为在商店里偷东西而入狱。
秋代不仅身无分文,而且还得不到家人的支持。就在她入狱之前,她43岁的儿子甚至对她说:“真希望你赶紧消失。”
秋代告诉CNN:“我已经什么都不在乎了,我活着已经没有什么意义了,我只想早点死。”
51岁的女囚犯洋子,在过去25年间曾因毒品犯罪入狱5次。据她观察,监狱里的犯人的确越来越老了。
“有些人没钱了,就会故意干坏事,然后被抓,这样就能进监狱了。”洋子说。出于隐私考虑,“洋子”也是一个化名。
监狱是她们唯一能获得支持的地方
缺乏照料和医疗,以及被家人抛弃,这些也是老年女性青睐监狱的现实原因之一——尤其是对于秋代这样的累犯来说。
一位名叫惠美的狱警表示,这些老年囚犯一旦出狱,根本不会有任何支持来帮助她们重新融入社会。
惠美对CNN表示:“即便她们获释了,回归了正常的生活,也没有人会照料她们。还有很多人在多次犯罪后被家人抛弃,根本无处可去。”
2021 年,日本厚生劳动省承认,相较于那些出狱后未获支持的老年囚犯,那些得到帮扶的老年囚犯再次犯罪的可能性要低得多。据CNN报道,日本厚生劳动省正在加大早期干预力度,包括设立社区中心来为老年人提供帮助。
此外,日本法务省推出了一些项目,专门为老年人提供关于独立生活、戒除药物滥用以及处理家庭关系方面的教育。另外,日本还在就一些政策进行研究,以便让老年人享受更多住房方面的福利。目前,日本已有10个城市正在试点对没有近亲属的老年人提供帮扶的项目。
秋代已于去年10月刑满释放了。在获释前一个月,她对CNN表示,她“十分羞愧,害怕面对自己的儿子。”
秋代说:“孤独的日子太难熬了,落到这般田地,我十分羞愧。我真的觉得,要是我的意志再坚强一些,我可能会过上不一样的生活。但是我太老了,现在已经什么都改变不了了。”(财富中文网)
译者:朴成奎
日本是世界老龄人口最多的国家之一。去年12月,美国国家卫生统计中心还将日本评为全世界最适宜养老的国家。日本冲绳也是世界闻名的养老圣地,这里的长寿老人比比皆是,幸福指数也很高。然而据CNN近日报道,日本也有不少老人的生活处境堪忧,令人触目惊心。
在日本最大的女子监狱里,老年囚犯的数量日益增多。据CNN报道,从2003年到2022年,65岁及以上老年女性囚犯的数量几乎翻了两番。当今时代,孤独已经成为一种席卷全球的症状,很多日本老年女性在经济上和社会上孤立无助,只得铤而走险,通过主动犯罪入狱来寻求群体归属感和他人的帮助。
以今年81岁的秋代(为保护隐私,此处使用化名)为例,她因在商店偷窃食品而入狱服刑。
秋代在接受CNN采访时说:“这座监狱里有很多好人,或许这样的生活对我来说才是最安稳的。”
在这些老年囚犯眼中,囚友的陪伴,监狱的定时三餐和免费的医疗护理,都对她们有着强烈的吸引力。虽然囚犯得在监狱工厂劳作,但这也不能阻止她们奔向监狱。
去年9月,东京枥木女子监狱的狱警白永贵义(音译)在接受CNN采访时表示:“甚至有人说,只要能永远住在这儿,她们甚至愿意每月付给监狱2万到3万日元。”
白永贵义还表示:“有些人是因为饥寒交迫才来到这里的。而且生病的人在监狱里能获得免费治疗,但一旦她们出狱,就得自己掏钱看病,所以有些人想待在这里越久越好。”
我犯罪,因为我想活
对一些老年女性而言,她们之所以犯罪,只是因为她们想活着。经合组织的报告显示,日本65岁以上的老年人中,有两成生活在贫困线以下。据CNN报道,盗窃是日本老年囚犯中最常见的犯罪行为。日本政府的数据也显示,2022 年,全日本超过80%的老年女性囚犯都是因为盗窃而入狱的。
秋代60多岁的时候,就曾因为盗窃食物而入狱。而过了将近20年之后,走投无路的秋代再次因为在商店里偷东西而入狱。
秋代不仅身无分文,而且还得不到家人的支持。就在她入狱之前,她43岁的儿子甚至对她说:“真希望你赶紧消失。”
秋代告诉CNN:“我已经什么都不在乎了,我活着已经没有什么意义了,我只想早点死。”
51岁的女囚犯洋子,在过去25年间曾因毒品犯罪入狱5次。据她观察,监狱里的犯人的确越来越老了。
“有些人没钱了,就会故意干坏事,然后被抓,这样就能进监狱了。”洋子说。出于隐私考虑,“洋子”也是一个化名。
监狱是她们唯一能获得支持的地方
缺乏照料和医疗,以及被家人抛弃,这些也是老年女性青睐监狱的现实原因之一——尤其是对于秋代这样的累犯来说。
一位名叫惠美的狱警表示,这些老年囚犯一旦出狱,根本不会有任何支持来帮助她们重新融入社会。
惠美对CNN表示:“即便她们获释了,回归了正常的生活,也没有人会照料她们。还有很多人在多次犯罪后被家人抛弃,根本无处可去。”
2021 年,日本厚生劳动省承认,相较于那些出狱后未获支持的老年囚犯,那些得到帮扶的老年囚犯再次犯罪的可能性要低得多。据CNN报道,日本厚生劳动省正在加大早期干预力度,包括设立社区中心来为老年人提供帮助。
此外,日本法务省推出了一些项目,专门为老年人提供关于独立生活、戒除药物滥用以及处理家庭关系方面的教育。另外,日本还在就一些政策进行研究,以便让老年人享受更多住房方面的福利。目前,日本已有10个城市正在试点对没有近亲属的老年人提供帮扶的项目。
秋代已于去年10月刑满释放了。在获释前一个月,她对CNN表示,她“十分羞愧,害怕面对自己的儿子。”
秋代说:“孤独的日子太难熬了,落到这般田地,我十分羞愧。我真的觉得,要是我的意志再坚强一些,我可能会过上不一样的生活。但是我太老了,现在已经什么都改变不了了。”(财富中文网)
译者:朴成奎
Japan, known for its robust aging population, was ranked the healthiest country to age in by the National Center for Health Statistics in December. Okinawa, Japan, is also considered a blue zone, home to some of the world’s longest-living and happiest communities. But, according to a new report from CNN, many of those older adults are struggling.
Japan’s largest women’s prison has become home to a growing number of seniors. CNN reported the number of prisoners aged 65 or older nearly quadrupled from 2003 to 2022. Feeling neglected financially and socially, in the wake of a global loneliness epidemic, many older Japanese women are turning to imprisonment to find community and support.
Akiyo, identified by pseudonym for privacy, is an 81-year-old inmate who was serving time for shoplifting food.
“There are very good people in this prison,” Akiyo told CNN. “Perhaps this life is the most stable for me.”
The companionship offered by prison is the main appeal for these elderly women, along with regular meals, free healthcare and eldercare. And the requirement to work in the prison factories is no deterrent.
“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,” Takayoshi Shiranaga, an officer at Tochigi Women’s Prison located north of Tokyo, said during an interview with CNN in September.
“There are people who come here because it’s cold, or because they’re hungry,” said Shiranaga. And those who fall ill “can get free medical treatment while they are in prison, but once they leave, they have to pay for it themselves, so some people want to stay here as long as possible.”
Committing crimes to survive
For some elderly women, resorting to crime is a path to survival. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that 20% of people aged over 65 in Japan live in poverty. Theft is the most common crime among elderly prisoners, CNN reported. In 2022, more than 80% of elderly female prisoners nationwide were in jail for stealing, according to the Japanese government.
When she was in her 60s, Akiyo was jailed for stealing food. Nearly 20 years later, she was imprisoned after shoplifting out of desperation.
Akiyo was not only left with no money, but also no familial support. Just before she was imprisoned, her 43-year-old son told her, “I wish you’d just go away.”
“I felt like I didn’t care what happened anymore,” she told CNN. “I thought, ‘There’s no point in me living,’ and ‘I just want to die.’”
Another inmate, Yoko, 51, has been imprisoned on drug charges five times over the last 25 years. She said that the prison population only seems to get older.
“(Some people) do bad things on purpose and get caught so that they can come to prison again, if they run out of money,” said Yoko, who CNN identified by a pseudonym for privacy.
Prison is the only place to get support
A lack of caregivers, limited access to healthcare, and being abandoned by family members—adds another layer to the appeal of prison for these elderly women—especially the repeat offenders like Akiyo.
Once they leave prison, there’s no support to transition back to society, said another prison guard, Megumi, identified by her first name only.
“Even after they are released and return to normal life, they don’t have anybody to look after them,” she told CNN. “There are also people who have been abandoned by their families after repeatedly committing crimes, they have no place to belong.”
In 2021, the Japanese welfare ministry acknowledged that elderly inmates who received support after leaving prison were much less likely to become repeat offenders than those who didn’t. CNN reported that the ministry was bolstering its early intervention efforts and community centers to help the elderly.
That is in addition to programs launched by Japan’s Ministry of Justice which provide education on independent living, substance abuse recovery, and navigating family relationships. Japan is also considering proposals to make housing benefits more widely accessible to the elderly, as 10 municipalities across the country test programs to help elderly people with no close relatives.
Akiyo finished her sentence in October. A month before her release, she told CNN she was “full of shame and afraid to face her son.”
“Being alone is a very difficult thing, and I feel ashamed that I ended up in this situation,” Akiyo added. “I really feel that if I had a stronger will, I could have led a different life, but I’m too old to do anything about it now.”