Japanese authorities have admitted that crime rates amongst it’s elderly population have eclipsed that of younger citizens for the first time in 25 years.
In the first half of 2015, Japanese police have dealt with more than 23,000 crimes involving those over the age of 65, compared to 20,000 committed by 14-19 year olds. The absolutely bizarre statistic could be down to the fact that Japan has a rising elderly population with 26% of of its 127 million people being over the age of retirement. I guess you’ve gotta do something to fill your Tuesday afternoons though right?
BloombergGetting ready for their next home invasion.
What’s perhaps more shocking is police have admitted that they only expect this figure to rise as more and more people cross the retirement threshold. There have been numerous calls for the elderly to receive better care in Japan, and many believe that boredom could play a part in the recent spike of offences. Bingo apparently isn’t big in Japan.
The police haven’t released any details of what the crimes actually involve, and we can only speculate about their severity. Our best guesses are grandkidnapping, over-feeding the ducks and obviously gran theft auto.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.