The 2022 White Paper on Crime has been published. Crime in Japan continues to decline, even though it is rated as one of the lowest in the world. The White Paper on Crime reports that the proportion of inmates aged 65 and over has quadrupled over the past 20 years. In recent years, the ratio of elderly people to the number of general penal code offenses has been rising steadily. In the year of 2021, there will be 16,152 new inmates detained in prisons nationwide. Of the 16,152 prisoners, 2,233 are elderly prisoners over the age of 65. In the breakdown of crimes by the elderly, "theft" was the most common at 69.9%, and "shoplifting" accounted for more than half. In general, the amount of money to keep an inmate in prison for one year is 2.7 million yen.
It means that the prescription of inmates who repeat crimes is in terms of stability of life. For the elderly and people with intellectual disabilities who have lost their livelihoods, prisons are facilities where they do not have to worry about food, clothing, housing, or illness. If welfare becomes stagnant and prisons are enriched, the influx of the elderly and people with disabilities will accelerate. If they have no place to live and no job, prison is the place to be. Prisons, in some respects, may have come to represent the flavor of nursing homes. It is desirable to secure income and enrich life and study.
The hint for solving this problem is Fukuno collaboration. According to one estimate, a person with a disability needs at least 110,000 yen a month to live an independent life in a rural area. Therefore, a leader in Kagoshima created this earning system through repeated trial and error. It will be about 70,000 yen for the disability pension. And he made a mechanism that people with disabilities can work and earn 40,000 yen. Employees who support the independence of persons with disabilities receive a salary of 200,000 from the government. If this staff member divides his salary of 200,000 yen among 5 people with disabilities for 40,000 yen each, it will be 110,000 yen. This leader-cum-staff member and five people with disabilities formed a team to create a system that aims to earn 200,000 yen a month through agriculture. This system saves money compared to putting people in jail. All you have to do is create a system to earn a monthly pension of 70,000 yen and 40,000 yen with 6 people. 70,000 x 12 months = 840,000 yen is much more reasonable than spending 2.7 million yen per person in prison. You can turn inmates into citizens who contribute to society at a reasonable price.