Old Yakuza Men Without a Pension
If you are a law-abiding employed person in Japan, you pay into the pension system. If you pay into the system for at least 40 years, you qualify for a full pension when you become 65 years old. I think most foreign residents in Japan don’t qualify for the full pension because they haven’t paid into it for the full 40 years. If a person who has paid into it at least ten years, the payer qualifies for a partial pension.
I read about how older yakuza (Japanese mafia) members who haven’t worked legitimate jobs, are facing a future with no pension or retirement benefits. The organizations’ leaders may have lots of money, but what about the lower levels members?
A 68 year old member of one crime family shot two members of another family, then waited for the police to come and arrest him. Why didn’t he try to run and hide, you ask. Well, maybe he wanted to get caught. To me, jail sounds like a horrendous place to live, but if you are facing old age with no money saved and no pension, maybe these guys are thinking it’s not so bad. You get three meals, a place to sleep, health care, all at no cost. There may not be a lot of old men doing this, but even if just a few, there is really something wrong with this situation. Yes, if you commit a serious crime, you should go to jail as punishment. On the other hand, if you commit a serious crime in order to get the “retirement benefits” of being in jail, that just isn’t right.
These crime organizations go back to 17th century Edo (today’s Tokyo). At their strongest in modern times in the 1960’s, membership was about 184,000. Membership now is estimated at about 40,000.
4 comments:
Hello Pamela: That happens in the US a lot with the cold weather coming many people male and female commit crimes even if they are only in for a few days. The courts are so far behind and this causes them to get even farther behind. It is sad that crime seems like such a glorious way to live and many do not realize that the benefits of working a normal job have many benefits after retirement.
I hope all is well with you and you have a wonderful week.
Catherine
Japanese prisons are very strict with marching to work, no talk during meals, simple food, no heating or AC, but I think they are resonably safe (not much beating up by other inmates)...
Obeying rules is a must. I guess a lot of the mafia members are so used to 'doing what they are told', prison life is easier for them than it would be for 'ordinary' criminals. For a person who has been 'led' all his life, it might be really hard to retire from gang life and manage on his own...
I agree, there is something wrong with the system, but the police are doing what they can to arrest gangsters and lower the number of members. Didn't you report on a yakuza who was arrested for not picking up his dog's poop? Any excuse to get them off the streets and behind bars.
This issue is often featured on TV news and newspapers as a social issue in Japan. Yakuza are not the only ones who commit crimes and return to prison soon after being released from prison.
Prisons should not be used as residences or hospitals. If you can work while receiving welfare, I think it would be ideal to work．
I've heard of people in America commiting crimes and getting caught just in order to get free healthcare, so getting taken care of in old age isn't far off. Do you know if Japanese prisons are good quality of life for the inmates?
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