The growing number of elderly shoplifters in Japan is a problem that has been covered a lot in the international media, and, as you may have seen in an older post, it also gets attention on hidden camera shoplifting reports.

Here’s an English-subtitled clip from one recent news report about shoplifting (it’s the same show that had a foreign shoplifter):

Why do people shoplift? Kyodo News has reported on a newly released survey form the Tokyo police:

Twenty-four percent of 204 people aged 65 and older charged recently with shoplifting by the Metropolitan Police Department said they were driven to do so by their feelings of loneliness. One said he was living alone after getting divorced and had just 21 yen at the time of his arrest in a supermarket.

The police added that 8 percent of the elderly people surveyed — the second largest group — cited a lack of motivation in life and 7 percent said their crimes were prompted by frustration. Forty percent of the elderly offenders live alone and 53 percent said they do not have any friends.

At the other end of the age spectrum, 27 percent of minors caught by the police said they felt that shoplifting was like a game, followed by 23 percent who said they just wanted the items they stole.

It is impossible to know if the criminals were telling the truth about their motives, so we can’t be sure of the accuracy of the survey. Still, it provides an interesting look at different reasons that might exist.

Side note: Japan isn’t alone in its elderly crime problem. America could also be on the verge of a “geriatric crime wave.”

• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)