ladyarkles
01-10-2008, 02:01 AM
The swelling numbers of elderly inmates in Japan's prisons has prompted the government to begin a major revamp of its jails to provide elevators, handrails and wheelchair ramps for incarcerated seniors.
Renovation plans are set to begin in three of the country's 75 prisons to accommodate seniors who require assistance, the Justice Ministry said this week.
The government will spend US$76 million to build elderly care complexes for about 1,000 inmates, the first step in a program likely to be expanded in the future.
The number of inmates 60 or older was 8,700 at the end of 2006, a threefold increase from a decade earlier. Older inmates now make up about 12 percent of all inmates in Japan.
Full story - Inquirer.net (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080109-111326/Japan-to-build-nursing-care-units-for-elderly-convicts)
Renovation plans are set to begin in three of the country's 75 prisons to accommodate seniors who require assistance, the Justice Ministry said this week.
The government will spend US$76 million to build elderly care complexes for about 1,000 inmates, the first step in a program likely to be expanded in the future.
The number of inmates 60 or older was 8,700 at the end of 2006, a threefold increase from a decade earlier. Older inmates now make up about 12 percent of all inmates in Japan.
Full story - Inquirer.net (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080109-111326/Japan-to-build-nursing-care-units-for-elderly-convicts)