As Asia ages, growing elder abuse in Japan foretells what Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea may face in future

Japan reported a record 17,281 incidents of elder abuse in 2020, the latest year for which statistics are available – 25 of which resulted in deaths

The surge in violence has been linked in part to pandemic-born frustrations, as similar spikes have also been reported in domestic and child abuse cases

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An elderly man walks along a street covered with snow in Tokyo. A growing trend of elder abuse in Japan has raised concerns for the rest of ageing Asia. Photo: EPA

Published: 9:30am, 16 Jan 2022Updated: 11:42am, 16 Jan 2022

She just snapped. That’s what Yu Inoue told the officer on duty when she walked through the doors of a neighbourhood police station in the Kita ward of Sapporo, northern Japan, late into the night on December 23.

The 57-year-old confessed to repeatedly punching her 82-year-old mother in the face, then stomping on the older woman’s body as she lay prone on the ground, after the two got into an argument about the family dog.

Kiyomi Inoue died at some point during the assault, which took place between 6.20am and 10.30pm on the same day that her daughter eventually handed herself in to the police.

“I lost my temper at the way my mother talked to me,” Yu Inoue was quoted as saying in the police report.

An elderly woman walks with her trolley along a street in Tokyo. Japan recorded a record number of elder abuse cases in 2020. Photo AFP

Though distressing, the Inoue case is far from the only example of elder abuse in Japan. A survey released at the end of December by the country’s health and welfare ministry found 17,281 incidents of elderly people being physically assaulted by family members in 2020 – a record high – with 25 deaths occurring as a result.