日本'銀髮族'囚犯數量龐大 監獄成養老歸宿

A Japanese prison in Tokushima converted a building to house elderly inmates, putting itself at the forefront of an effort to cope with Japan's graying prisoner population.

日本德島縣的一所監獄改造了一棟建築用於關押老年囚犯，成爲應對日本囚犯人口老齡化的先行者。

It also employs a caregiver trained in working with the elderly for those in the hospital ward.

該監獄還爲病房裏的囚犯僱傭了一名專業的老年人護工。

The number of prisoners aged 60 or older has risen 7% from a decade ago to 9,308, and made up 19% of the entire prison population in Japan in 2016.

2016年，60歲及以上的日本囚犯人數達到9308名，在全國囚犯人數中的佔比從10年前的7%增加到19%。

That compares with only 6% of that age bracket in the US, and about 11% in South Korea.

而在美國和韓國，這一年齡段囚犯人數的比例分別約爲6%和11%。

A sizable chunk of elderly inmates are repeat offenders, which experts say reflects the difficulties of finding jobs after release and coping with the uncertainty freedom brings.

許多老年囚犯是慣犯，專家稱這反映了犯人刑滿釋放後難以找到工作，以及難以應對自由帶來的不確定性。

"I have a heart condition and used to collapse often at the (prison) factory," said an 81-year-old inmate at Tokushima, imprisoned for life for killing a taxi driver and injuring another person six decades ago.

德島縣一名81歲的犯人表示：“我有心臟病，經常在（監獄）的工廠裏昏倒。”他在60年前，因爲殺害計程車司機以及傷害另一人遭判無期徒刑。

Despite his life sentence, the 81-year-old has been released twice on parole, but wound up back in prison after being caught drinking alcohol, a parole violation. He hopes he will be paroled again so he can see his 103-year-old mother.

這位被判終身監禁的81歲老人已獲假釋兩次，但當他違反假釋條例喝了酒後，又回到了監獄。他希望再次獲得假釋，好去見他103歲的母親。

"I want to get out of the prison while she's still alive," he said. "That's all I want."

他表示：“我想趁她還在世的時候出獄。這就是我想做的事。”