If you are an elderly female in Japan, and a little short on money, you might want to consider a brief career in shoplifting. Some elderly women are intentionally getting caught shoplifting so they can go to prison. They are treated very well in prison; free food and health care, and they can socialize while working in the prison factory. They consider the other inmates to be "very good" people. Of course, American prisons are scary places to be, so that won't work here. So if you are short on cash and approaching your golden years, you should first learn Japanese, then put a trip to Japan on your credit card, and do some serious shoplifting in Japan. If the judge tries to show you some mercy for being a foreigner, explain that you are incorrigible, and you can't be deported due to a newly diagnosed medical ailment that came from eating bad sushi. Only with a lengthy prison sentence can you be rehabilitated. (It's kinda sad on some levels. OTOH, it is amazing that prisoners in Japan tend to be polite and easy to be around.) https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/18/asia/japan-elderly-largest-womens-prison-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
They should set up a prisoner exchange program with Central American countries if it's an economic issue for them. Problem solved.
Japan is basically the polar opposite of the USA. For better or worse, right or wrong, the two are not comparable. Few freedoms.. fewer risks. Extremely homogeneous (97percent or so I believe). As for the original story (likely posted just to take pot shots at our country) I’ve known hobos who would purposely get arrested in cold nights for a warm place to sleep and a meal.. it was a while back (40-50 years) when I spent time hoboing across America. I can understand why a desperate elderly woman in Japan would find it a reasonable option.
Japan may actually have more freedoms than the US. They just don’t appropriate them for fear of standing out.
I remember picking my dad up after he spent a night in jail. Sadly, he commented on the loss of 18 hrs of comradery.
I wasn't trying to criticize the U.S. I was making a joke of how someone here could live in a nice prison in Japan. It seems illogical to spend additional money to provide security for elderly women who are not a danger to society. It seems like Japan could provide a factory environment with dormitories and a medical facility so elderly women could do something productive to help pay for the costs of their stay, while allowing them the freedom to go places on their days off. Japan is already paying for their food, housing, and medical care. I guess the connection to the U.S. is that we have some of the same problems, with large numbers of elderly people on the verge of going broke, who often cannot afford food, housing, and medical care. I don't see what homogeneity has to do with this situation.
Countries that have a high homogeneity tend to have lower crime rates ( according to studies.. not just me). It makes the prison systems less violent as well. … which would make prisons more appealing option for the poor.
