Staff writer

For 69-year-old Kayoko Okawa, who learned to use typewriters while working for a U.S. insurance firm in the 1950s, the recent pervasion of personal computers into everyday life is a welcome development that helps enrich her life.

Many others of her generation, however, find the advent of the digital world -- and the technical jargon that has accompanied it -- intimidating.

But despite a popular perception to the contrary, the elderly are the ones who can benefit most from computers, Okawa said.

"As society is rapidly graying, personal computers can help the elderly maintain independent and dignified lives, for PCs can serve as their eyes, ears, mouth, hands and legs," Okawa said. "In addition, computers can bridge generation gaps."

After finding that regular computer classes were ill-suited to the elderly, whose physical conditions demand more personal attention, Okawa, a resident of Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, and others launched a computer club by the elderly and for the elderly in March 1997.

Despite initial worries, Computer Obaachan No Kai (Computer Grandma's Group) has turned out to be very successful and now boasts a membership of around 180 people aged between 60 and 89. The name has not discouraged men from joining, as they make up 40 percent of the group.

The name comes from the title of a song, "Computer Obaachan," which aired on an NHK program of children's songs 20 years ago, Okawa said. "The matching of an old woman and the computer in the song was so funny it left a strong impression on me."

Besides pure curiosity, many of the members cite their fear of getting left behind by the information-oriented society as their reason for learning to use computers, Okawa said.

"The world of the computer is really profound, and it is challenging to learn " said Kazuko Takahashi, 70, who joined the group after she saw its activities on a TV news program.

"I am rather overwhelmed. There are so many things I want to master," she said.

Membership has gone beyond geographical boundaries, as a growing number of Japanese seniors living overseas have joined the group's mailing list, wherein all e-mail messages are circulated among members.

According to Okawa, about 40 to 50 messages are exchanged by members on an average day. Topics in the virtual salon are wide-ranging, from the budding romance of a 4-year-old grandson to the moral justification of organ transplants from brain-dead donors.

"Men especially speak less as they get older, and e-mail helps alleviate the solitude of the elderly," Okawa said. "Some members are bedridden and cannot go out."

Many members had never even touched a computer keyboard before joining the group and start with the basics, such as how to boot up the computer.

Unlike other computer classes, participants can learn whatever they like at their own pace at the group's computer seminars, held four times a month.

The interests of the members vary. Some use computers to check the latest stock quotes, while others hone their computer graphics skills, with some works rivaling watercolor paintings.

Still others play go, the Japanese game of strategy resembling checkers, with total strangers, often with those overseas, via the Internet.

According to Okawa, the most recent fad among members is the digital camera, as they can easily process and transfer pictures of their grandchildren.

They have very reliable guides in their adventures into the digital world. Volunteer helpers, called supporters by the members, are on hand to help. They are college students, office workers and sometimes even junior high school students.

Although the group welcomes new applicants for the job, it places one condition -- supporters must not get angry when the same question is repeated 10 times.

Okawa says many young supporters have found the companionship with the elderly fun and gratifying, as conversations with them reveal the depth of their knowledge and experience.

"We talk about a lot of things during the seminar, including wartime stories," said Masaaki Morita, a college student who learned about the group on the Internet. "I think I was lucky (to find out about the club), because there are not many occasions when I can meet and learn from the elderly."

Okawa said, "It is true that our members are computer beginners, but they are the masters in the game of life."

When members put their war memoirs on the group's Web site last year for the 53rd anniversary of the end of World War II, they received more than 400 responses from all over the world, especially from young people.

"We wanted to write down the tragedies of the war for our grandchildren's generation so that it will never happen again," Okawa said. "Only computers can bring these generations together."

In another effort to draw the elderly into the digital world, Okawa recently wrote a book designed for elderly computer novices called "Obaachan no Pasokon Shinan," a computer textbook by a granny. "I hope those old folks will say 'Hey, it seems the computer is a lot of fun and even I can handle it,'" Okawa said.

The Computer Grandma's Group Web site can be found at www.jijibaba.com