Japan has been faced with a problem of an aging population, and one aspect of this issue has become that for many elderly people, prison has become a kind of peculiar refuge and source of stability, which they lack in everyday life. One such case is the story of 81-year-old woman named Akio, who was forced to commit thefts to end up in prison, as she considered this option to be more stable than living in freedom.
Akio first encountered the problems of survival in her 60s due to a limited pension. Now, in a prison that houses nearly 500 inmates, primarily of advanced age, many of them became the last asylum for elderly Japanese people, for whom life in freedom has become an unbearable experience.
Prison officer Takayo Shirakawa noted that some elderly people expressed a willingness to pay for incarceration, preferring this alternative to the fear of dying alone. Akio was already imprisoned twice in the Tokigi Correctional Facility, the largest women’s institution in Japan, located to the north of Tokyo. However, after being released in October 2024, she faced an issue of isolation and fear of an unbearable winter ahead.
"It might be the most stable life for me," Akio shared. Starting from 2024, the number of people aged 65 and older reached a record 36.25 million, making up 29.3% of the population, making Japan the country with the fastest aging population in the world.
"Many would pay between 20,000 to 30,000 yen a month just for that stability provided by prison," Shirakawa noted. "Japan's demographic challenges are very sharp. To be alone is unbearably difficult, and I feel myself deprived and struggle with what has been shown here," Akio admitted. "If I had financial stability and a comfortable life, I would not have done this," she added.
