Japan's loneliness epidemic is so bad that elderly women are committing crimes to find friends and health care in prison

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.

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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.”