Shoplifting competition fierce in Japan

Young shoplifters in Japan need to watch out - competition from their elderly counterparts is catching up with them.Cases of shoplifting by elderly people - those aged 65 years or older - has…

Lawyers Weekly • 31 August 2009 • SME Law

Young shoplifters in Japan need to watch out - competition from their elderly counterparts is catching up with them.

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Cases of shoplifting by elderly people - those aged 65 years or older - has more than doubled in the past five years and reached an all-time high in Tokyo last year. It is now nearly at the same levels as cases involving young offenders, reported Yahoo News.

A police research panel convened to address the rising problem found that one in four elderly shoplifters blamed their crimes on loneliness.

Those shoplifters will not be thrown in jail, however. A police spokesman said community service would be used to rehabilitate the wayward elderly.

Japan's population is made up of 20 per cent of people aged 65 or over, with predictions that figure will double by 2050.

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Folklaw wonders if the crime rate for shoplifting will also double.

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