Paper short abstract:

This paper describes the experiences of older Japanese adults managing life within carceral circuits of the prison-welfare nexus through rhythms of reoffending and release. It argues that decarceral anthropology means addressing ageism/ableism and supporting the imagination of inclusive alternatives

Paper long abstract:

Prison populations around the world have been aging rapidly since the turn of the 21st century. This has been a relatively under-researched area in studies of mass incarceration, but has become increasingly urgent as the cost and human rights problems of keeping frail and disabled older people in detention have come under scrutiny. The aging trend has been attributed to the punitive turn in criminal justice systems and the failures of welfare systems to address widening socioeconomic inequalities affecting older people. However, this paper argues that the more fundamental problem lies in the ageism and ableism that reproduces careceral logics across welfare schemes directed at isolated and impoverished older people. Undoing this problem requires a more radical change. Drawing on fieldwork conducted with formerly incarcerated older people and resettlement NGOs in the Tokyo Metropolitain Area, this paper describes the ways welfare systems based on anti-ageing logics contribute to the criminalization of old age. I argue that the common pattern of reoffending among many individuals reflects both the blurring of lines between prison and society (shaba) for formerly incarcerated older people, and an attempt to exercise moral agency within the narrow limits of precarious conditions of welfare dependency. I also describe attempts to provide anti-ageist and anti-ableist alternatives to carceral systems led by third-sector organizations, arguing that these values should be central to abolitionist praxis and decarceral anthropology.