Unsettled Futures : Vanderbilt University Press : 9780826507006 : 082650700X : 15 Sep 2024 : There are two prevailing myths about Japanese society: first, that it has a successful elderly welfare system and second, that it has a successful criminal justice system. Both of these myths reinforce a social imaginary where cultural values of family and community harmony make extensive state intervention unnecessary. Yet not only are both of these myths and their arguments deeply flawed, but they also obscure the more troubling reality that institutions of welfare and punishment in Japan are co-extensive, both keeping Japan's growing population of "excess" older people contained and controlled rather than providing ways for them to integrate and flourish. Elderly ex-offenders are some of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in Japan today, with high levels of poverty and homelessness, disability, mental health problems, and social isolation. Those with a history of incarceration and,