But in recent years, another unexpected trend has been unfolding: In record numbers, elderly people in Japan are committing petty crimes so they can spend the rest of their days in prison.

Japan’s choeki penalty, which mandates prison labor, has been criticized internationally. Many developed nations do not impose such a work obligation on prisoners in line with an international ...

MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- A Japanese man has been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 21,000 Belarusian rubles ($6,400) for espionage, the Eastern European nation's prosecutors said Monday.