Japan’s Pensioners Embark on ‘Grey Crime’ Wave

70 year old Yasumasa Matsuzaki was evicted from a convenience store because of his habit of reading magazines without ever buying anything. He returned five minutes later with a chainsaw and threatened the staff before returning to the magazine rack. The incident last week is part of a wave of so-called grey crime in Japan. The percentage of over-65s in prison has trebled in the past decade and exceeds 10 per cent of the total prison population – four times the UK figure. Japan has the highest rate of incarceration for pensioners in the industrialised world