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October 03, 2025
 

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ELDERLY

With the average farmer in Japan over 65, the agricultural sector, like others, faces the challenge of demographic decline as an aging workforce strains productivity and growth.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2025
Graying Japan needs both globalization and immigration
Japan has the highest ratio of elderly to working-age people in the world — over 50% — meaning there are only two workers for every person over 64.
Itsumi Tanaka smiles as she is complimented during lunchtime at Grandma’s Cafe in the city of Fukuoka.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 29, 2025
‘Grandma’s Cafe’ offers purpose and income for elderly
A company in Fukuoka Prefecture is operating unique eateries where elderly women, some with dementia, welcome guests with homestyle cooking.
The Cabinet Office is looking to survey private-sector initiatives aimed at preventing loneliness and isolation among seniors.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 23, 2025
Japan to study corporate efforts to prevent post-retirement loneliness
The government plans to collect and analyze how corporations support employees building relationships before retirement, then promote models that prove effective nationwide.
A thermometer displays 42 degrees Celsius in the city of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, on Aug. 5.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2025
Government to step up heatstroke prevention for elderly
While elderly people are at higher risk of heatstroke due to their declining thermoregulation and ability to sweat, some refrain from using air conditioners even on very hot days.
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2025
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
Four scientists at the forefront of dementia research speak about what kind of future they envision for people with the condition.
NITE advises elderly people using electric wheelchairs to avoid railroad crossings where the wheels tend to get stuck and wide roads that require time to cross, as well as steep slopes.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2025
Older people using electric wheelchairs and bikes warned of fall risks
There were 56 accidents involving people age 65 or older that occurred while using electric wheelchairs in the decade that ended last March.
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 16, 2025
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimate, released ahead of Respect for the Aged Day on Monday, decreased for the first time in two years.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swastika Jajoo (fourth from right) began attending the daily radio calisthenics routine at Sendai’s Kitasanbancho Park and struck up unexpected friendships with a group of elderly residents.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 15, 2025
Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctoral student in Sendai found friendship in unexpected places.
A novel type of fraud has been reported in Osaka Prefecture in which scammers send smartphones to elderly individuals before swindling them via the devices.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
Novel smartphone scam targeting elderly emerges in Osaka
Scammers would send elderly people smartphones before swindling them using the devices, according to the Osaka Prefectural Police.
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000
The number has grown steadily in recent years and comes as the birth rate continues to plummet.
Police have urged the public to be suspicious if an acquaintance on social media ends up asking for cash.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 3, 2025
Over the moon: Fake astronaut scams lovestruck Japanese octogenarian
The woman in Hokkaido met the fraudster in July on social media, a local police officer said, describing the case as a "romance scam."
Mariko Kamijo (left) interacts with users of her nursing care facility called Isshoen, in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, in July.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2025
Chinese-language care supports aging Japanese war orphans
Many Japanese war orphans left behind in China at the end of World War II and repatriated decades later struggle to adapt to nursing homes because of language barriers.
People shop at an accessory store in the Fuyoumen Commercial Building in Shanghai on April 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2025
China targeting older consumers for 'silver economy' boost
Beijing flagged "a new age" for the elderly in a 2021 policy guideline, but this year, authorities have gone into overdrive.
The government has approves expanded disaster relief to better support the elderly and people with disabilities during emergencies, including armed attacks.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Japan expands aid for the elderly and people with disabilities in emergencies
There have been concerns about some evacuees dying due to their health deteriorating after evacuation, and the need to strengthen protections in the event of armed attacks.
Among elderly people age 65 and over, the share of single-person households jumped from 5.0% to 12.1% between 1995 to 2020.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 27, 2025
Use of deceased's person's savings for cremation allowed without heirs' consent
The move is aimed at reducing the financial burden on municipalities, which have often shouldered burial or cremation costs.
The average life expectancy of Japanese citizens in 2024 is 81.09 years for men and 87.13 years for women, according to the health ministry.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 25, 2025
Japan's average life expectancy in 2024 almost unchanged from 2023, data shows
The life expectancy of Japanese men was sixth globally in 2024, while that of Japanese women remained in the top spot.
The Virtual Expo app lets users navigate a digital version of the 2025 Osaka Expo site by controlling avatars.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 24, 2025
Virtual access brings Osaka Expo to broader audience
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo hopes to bridge the "experience gap" for those who wish to visit but are unable to make the trip to the site.
The government is trying to make it easier for companies to develop services in the fields of nursing care and elderly support services by promoting cooperation with local governments.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 23, 2025
As Japan grays, government looks to aid public-private cooperation in nursing care
The initiative is aimed at making it easier for companies to develop services in the fields by helping them understand demand in each region.
Fauja Singh waves after finishing a 10 kilometer run in Hong Kong in February 2023.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 16, 2025
'World's oldest marathon runner' dies at age 114 in road accident
India's Fauja Singh died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday.
Takuya Nakagawa, a physical therapist at Anamizu General Hospital, checks on residents in a temporary housing unit in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on June 20.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025
Noto’s elderly residents face higher medical costs after 2024 quake
The trend has raised questions about how an effective support system can be set up for residents, whose prolonged displacement is also wearing them down mentally.
A secret no more: Russia and North Korea's battle against Ukraine is celebrated in Moscow exhibit
A woman visits an exhibition of North Korean art at a museum in Moscow on Monday.
Prices to rise for 3,024 food products in Japan in October
A wide range of products will see higher prices due to rising material and labor costs.
Koizumi and Takaichi continue to lead in LDP presidential race, polls show
Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (right) reacts as former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Liberal Democratic Party Presidential Election Candidate Debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, on Sept. 24. Koizumi and Takaichi remain head-to-head in the race, media polls show.
The party that ruled Japan for decades is in danger of crumbling
Haruo Tsukamoto, a rank-and-file member of the Liberal Democratic Party and a rice farmer in Ibaraki Prefecture, questions if the party still stands for people like him.
U.S. federal shutdown affects Americans in Japan and diplomatic talks
The U.S. government shut down on Wednesday, though essential services are still being offered.
Japan's far-right party courts Trump allies and vows not to get 'wacky'
Sanseito party leader Sohei Kamiya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 25.
How Ohtani has boosted Japan's soft power and made LA even more baseball-obsessed
Fans at Dodger Stadium pose in front of a mural highlighting the Dodgers' Japanese stars from past and present during a game earlier this year.
Japan faces fresh energy challenge as it seeks to expand power-hungry data centers
Data storage tapes at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center facility in Berkeley, California. Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and water, and that will only rise as generative artificial intelligence takes off in earnest.
Architecture art exhibition highlights unsung industry artists
Yuanhui Li's illustration is one of the awardees in the student category of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators' annual award for artists.
On defense and foreign policy, LDP candidates largely align — except where they don’t
The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates in Nagoya on Friday

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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