A World War II airman who was taken captive by Japanese forces and died in a prison fire after his plane was shot down has been accounted for, military officials said Wednesday.

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 ...

The company has pledged to rehabilitate the former Nara Prison into a “top-class” luxury accommodation facility, unveiling the outline of Japan’s first “prison hotel.” Yoshiharu Hoshino ...