First heard on the net, date unknown. Brought to bonfires in Mošorin, 2023 and in Berlin, 2024.
In Japanese society, long associated with respectability, decorum, and discipline, an unlikely phenomenon has quietly been taking root: a peculiar elderly crime wave has been sweeping across the country, signaling a metamorphosis hidden beneath the veneer of its orderly social façade. Recent years have seen an astonishing rise in the number of crimes committed by those aged 65 and above, a demographic usually associated with wisdom and reverence. In 1997, their presence in the crime statistics was a mere speck, but two decades later, it had swollen to constitute more than a fifth of all convictions. Traditionally, children had been the pillars of support for their aging parents, upholding the time-honored virtue of filial piety. But in a society transforming, economic opportunities were scarce, and the younger generation’s priorities have been shifting further and further away from elderly care. And so, for many people approaching the end of their life, the prison cell becomes a sanctuary. To them, incarceration was more than just confinement; it offered three meals a day, healthcare, and shelter.