Odd
Police in Japan are struggling to control a crime wave carried out by the elderly, says The Telegraph.
Reported cases include a 79-year-old woman stabbing two women with a fruit knife in Tokyo, an 85-year-old man with a terminal illness strangling his wife because he didn't want her to live after his death, and an elderly man robbing a store at knife-point.
This year, 48,597 over-65s were convicted of a criminal offence compared with 13,739 in 1998.
Tomomi Fujiwara, author of the book The Elderly Out Of Control, cited economic and social shifts for the soaring figures.
"It can be a question of money for some of these people, but that is not the main reason we're seeing this problem now," he said.
"In the past, elderly people were revered and cared for in Japanese society, living in the same homes with their children and families. That has gone now and they don't recognise their own neighbourhood or the people living around them."
Reported cases include a 79-year-old woman stabbing two women with a fruit knife in Tokyo, an 85-year-old man with a terminal illness strangling his wife because he didn't want her to live after his death, and an elderly man robbing a store at knife-point.
This year, 48,597 over-65s were convicted of a criminal offence compared with 13,739 in 1998.
Tomomi Fujiwara, author of the book The Elderly Out Of Control, cited economic and social shifts for the soaring figures.
"It can be a question of money for some of these people, but that is not the main reason we're seeing this problem now," he said.
"In the past, elderly people were revered and cared for in Japanese society, living in the same homes with their children and families. That has gone now and they don't recognise their own neighbourhood or the people living around them."
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