TOKYO: In August, a 79-year-old Japanese woman went on a slashing spree in Tokyo's bustling district of Shibuya, wounding two female passers-by before being arrested by police.

The attacker reportedly said she was homeless, had no money and thought if she committed a crime, the police would care for her.

LITTLE RESTRAINT 'In the past, blood ties and close-knit communities acted as a restraint on unacceptable behaviour. Committing a crime was tantamount to social suicide. But with the growing number of elderly single or couple households, that isn't the case any more. Take shoplifting, for example. The social stigma linked to such crimes is virtually non-existent today. An elderly shoplifter can get caught, be released, go home and continue with life without anyone being the wiser.' ... more

Crimes committed by the Japanese elderly are on the rise as the population of the aged grows rapidly amid deterioration in community ties and inadequacy of support system for the group, the Japan Times reported yesterday.

The number of those over 65 convicted of criminal offences ranging from theft to murder increased from 13,739 in 1998 to 48,597 last year, according to National Police Agency statistics. These figures have continued to swell this year.

'While shoplifting is the most typical crime, there is an uptrend in almost all types of crimes committed by the elderly,' said criminal psychology professor Kochi Hamai from the Ryukoku University Law School in Kyoto.

A rapidly greying nation, Japan saw the number of those over 65 reach a record high of 28.19 million as of Sept 15, constituting 22.1 per cent of the total population, according to the Internal Affairs Ministry.

Prof Hamai said that although the expanding grey population will skew the elderly crime figures, that is not the sole factor behind the increase in offences.

Some elderly people may be committing crimes intentionally so they can be put behind bars and under police care, instead of facing a bleak future in a society unable to adapt to the newly evolving demographics, he said.

In late September, a 71-year-old man was caught shoplifting in a supermarket in Sapporo in northern Japan. According to news reports, police found 750,000 yen (S$11,000) in his wallet, apparently money he had been saving from his monthly welfare payments.

'I didn't want to use my own money,' the man, who had been previously arrested for theft 14 times, reportedly said.

Mr Tomomi Fujiwara, an award-winning writer and author of Bosou Rojin (Angry Old People), said a sense of isolation resulting from a weakening of family and local ties is behind such crimes.

The Justice Ministry's White Paper on Crime 2007 notes that the number of elderly repeat offenders has steadily increased over the years, reaching 20.3 per cent of all repeat offenders in 2005.

Theft and fraud were the most common offences, together accounting for over 60 per cent of all repeat offences involving seniors.

To counter the trend, the Justice and the Health, Labour and Welfare ministries made a joint budget request in September for fiscal 2009 to establish support centres for elderly and mentally disabled people who have finished serving time.

The goal is to socially rehabilitate people who are too old or mentally unfit by helping them find a place to go after being released from prison.

Elderly households accounted for 497,665, or 45 per cent, of all households on welfare in 2007, an increase of 5 per cent from the previous year, according to the Health Ministry.

'For many, a television set is the only thing that keeps them company,' Canadian missionary Jean Le Beau, the director of a welfare organisation, said of the aged in Japan.

Prof Hamai offered a bleak outlook on the future, expecting both the elderly population and crimes committed by seniors to keep rising.

'Understanding of the plight that these people endure and a joint effort between both communities and the government is necessary to create effective safety nets,' Prof Hamai said.

'But with trust in the government virtually non-existent following the pension scandal and other persistent problems, I must say it's not looking too good,' he added.