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Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

bbc.co.uk

81–90 of 116 posts

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#81
post #46

Assisted suicide is a big trend in my country for old people who want to check out. But I know that in many countries that's not an option due to religious beliefs.

Religious belief? It's more like moral and constitutional basic human right issue.

Yes, that is a religious belief.

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#82
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying that it's a basic human right to choose whether or not to live, or that it's a right to not have a right to choose? The former would be a very weird statement.

I subscribe to former and I have no ides why you think its weird. The choice of continued concious existence is literally the only real natural right we have.

> The choice of continued concious existence is literally the only real natural right we have.

We have several choices and we make them each second. A choice to respond to this comment or not, for example. And even in a tragic scenario where you can't make any choice about your body, you may still have many others - see Hawking for example.

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't know, the American prison system doesn't seem to consider that a high importance. I'm not here to defend the American prison system - I'm talking more generally. > f your prison system is not a complete nightmare and people seem to be intentionally getting themselves imprisoned the right solution isn't to make the prisons worse, it's to fix the social problems that are making people prefer going to prison (…

> How is the government (or whichever organisation) going to solve all its citizens' personal problems? Money ?

well if all the government needs is money and it can solve all its citizens' problems, that's great news because the government can print money. Someone should have tried this earlier.

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#84

Retirement planning on $1200 SS: Go to jail for half of the time, plead guilty so no lawyer expenses, and when out, live on $2400 :) Sad way, but it's a way of doing it. Can't blame the newer generation as they can barely manage for themselves. Add mental illness that starts in a lot of older people and professional care is needed.

that doesn't work in the US because you'll get charged court/jail fees that will wipe away any money you saved.

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#85

My parents are set to turn 70 next year and I worry so much about their wellbeing when they get older. My dad, in particular, is a generally happy person, but doesn't have many friends. I worry that if my mom passes before him, he's going to have a rough time. I feel guilty because I'm one of those children described in the article who moved to another city to chase economic + social activity.

We've all done it, and often had to, which is the root of the problem. When I was under 10, both sets of grandparents and four of five aunts and uncles were within 10 miles, most under 3. Now we're all over the place and a visit isn't a regular frequent thing but a major, rarer, trip. As I'm in my mid fifties some of the future looks rather bleak. Add longer life expectancy after retirement and for most, better menta…

As I read this, I was envisioning a plant nursery, which I thought was a genius idea. Give the old people something simple to do like take care of plants! I guess children would work too. :)

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#86
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's only logical to balance the moral responsibility to preserve human dignity I don't know, the American prison system doesn't seem to consider that a high importance. The problem in Japan seems to be that the not-even-actually-nice prison system still trumps the conditions under which those pensioners apparently live. If your prison system is not a complete nightmare and people seem to be intentionally getting t…

> I don't know, the American prison system doesn't seem to consider that a high importance. I'm not here to defend the American prison system - I'm talking more generally. > f your prison system is not a complete nightmare and people seem to be intentionally getting themselves imprisoned the right solution isn't to make the prisons worse, it's to fix the social problems that are making people prefer going to prison (…

> Obviously that's the ideal, but it's literally impossible. How is the government (or whichever organisation) going to solve all its citizens' personal problems?

If we are still talking about poverty, loneliness, etc, then the solution is to build old people's homes. As a lot of countries do, so it's clearly not impossible. The residents pay a percentage of their pension and/or fortune, if you're poor you pay little, of you're well off you pay more. But everyone can get a place to live.

The specific problem in Japan as described in the article is that the basic state pension is too low to live off. And with no alternatives you end up as Toshio. The retirement age is also very low in Japan, which doesn't help - you're supposed to live off your pension from you're 60 or even younger. That'll be several decades of very poor economy for a lot of old people.

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#87
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't know, the American prison system doesn't seem to consider that a high importance. I'm not here to defend the American prison system - I'm talking more generally. > f your prison system is not a complete nightmare and people seem to be intentionally getting themselves imprisoned the right solution isn't to make the prisons worse, it's to fix the social problems that are making people prefer going to prison (…

> Obviously that's the ideal, but it's literally impossible. How is the government (or whichever organisation) going to solve all its citizens' personal problems? If we are still talking about poverty, loneliness, etc, then the solution is to build old people's homes. As a lot of countries do, so it's clearly not impossible. The residents pay a percentage of their pension and/or fortune, if you're poor you pay little…

I think a large part of the problem is that Japan is experiencing generational shrinkage. It doesn't matter which way you slice it, when people over the age of 65 make up 1/4 of the population and many need significant care it's going to be impossible to do so without redirecting a sizeable share of their economic output to elderly care. Taxes are just an indirection for directing labour towards social projects so they're not inherently able to overcome constraints like this.

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How is the government (or whichever organisation) going to solve all its citizens' personal problems? Money ?

well if all the government needs is money and it can solve all its citizens' problems, that's great news because the government can print money. Someone should have tried this earlier.

Money is one of the issue pointed by this article... Maybe not print money, but we can get some with, let's say, fighting tax fraud ?

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#89

My parents are set to turn 70 next year and I worry so much about their wellbeing when they get older. My dad, in particular, is a generally happy person, but doesn't have many friends. I worry that if my mom passes before him, he's going to have a rough time. I feel guilty because I'm one of those children described in the article who moved to another city to chase economic + social activity.

Total non sequitur but I think there is an opportunity for old folks homes with organized lan/online gaming. Probably still 15-30 years out until games start entering retirement communities in droves but maybe with the right promotion it could get started earlier?

i don't think it's that far, if you were 25-30yo gamer in middle of 90s, you would be now 50-55yo, 10-15 years from being 65-70 which doesn't sound like that low age to move to retirement home

Re: Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail

#90
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is your country?

Netherlands. People actually feel safe when they have a contract that allows them to be terminated when they get Alzheimer's for example. People want to live but on their own terms. Not spending 20 years in diapers tied to a bed or all alone wasting away with only a robot to talk to.

Logans Run: how does the Netherlands avoid subtle or overt pressure on the elderly that 'it is their time to go?'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan's_Run

I have seen doctors in the US all too often blame 'old age' for conditions that are preventable or can be significantly improved to forestall aging.

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