Tag - aging

 
 

AGING

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.
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Sep 7, 2025
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
The chagusaba method is sustainable, makes tea taste better and helps with biodiversity. But it’s also labor-intensive and the number of practitioners is dwindling.
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.
Kokichi Akuzawa, a 102-year-old Japanese man with a serious hear condition, has been certified as the oldest person to climb Mount Fuji.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2025
Japanese climber, 102, sets Mount Fuji record
"I have been there and seen the view many times, it wasn't anything special," said Kokichi Akuzawa, shrugging off the feat.
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.
Japan faces a demographic crisis that threatens its research talent and must build a more inclusive and welcoming society to attract and keep world-class scientists amid rising nationalism and economic challenges.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2025
Japan gets serious about attracting world-class researchers
The stakes are high: Without a cultural shift, even the best-funded policies may fail to secure Japan’s future.
Japan's oldest person, Miyoko Hiroyasu, died Tuesday at the age of 114, according to the health ministry.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2025
Japan's oldest person dies at 114
Miyoko Hiroyasu, from the city of Nakatsu in Oita Prefecture, was born in January 1911. She died on Tuesday.
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.
Political parties have pledged to reduce social security premiums and raise salaries for medical and nursing care workers in their campaigning for the upcoming Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2025
Premiums and wages at heart of social security debate ahead of Upper House vote
Social security premiums in Japan grew from ¥26.7 trillion in fiscal 2000 to ¥40.7 trillion in fiscal 2022.
A Buddhist monk performs a ceremony for lost souls at a property which is classified as a <i>jiko bukken</i>, or a "misfortunate property" where deaths have occurred, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on May 8.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2025
As property prices soar in Japan, the taint of death may not deter some buyers
Investors attracted by potential high yields increasingly do not care about a property's grim history, mostly because they are unlikely to live there themselves.
By pioneering stem cell therapies, Japan is not only treating disease but also seeking to rejuvenate a nation grappling with aging and decline.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2025
Japan is helping lead the way in regenerative medicine
In pristine labs across Japan, scientists are tinkering with the architecture of regeneration.
SMBC Nikko Securities has already introduced a family trust system under which relatives can act as agents for older customers for their investments.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 12, 2025
New securities system enables those with dementia to invest with family's help
Under the system, investors can designate trusted family members as their agents while they are still mentally capable.
More and more older Japanese people are joining health clubs, with Pilates becoming a popular form of exercise.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2025
So long, gateball. Japan’s seniors are ready to work those core muscles.
Japan’s seniors are trading gateball for Pilates, chasing strength, stability and a new kind of aging — with core control.
New data from the National Police Agency shows patterns in where dementia are found after going missing, and how best to locate them.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2025
491 dementia sufferers found dead in Japan in 2024
Many who were declared missing were later rescued thanks to GPS or other tracking devices attached to their clothing.
Kimihiro Matsuzaki prepares dishes at his half-century-old restaurant, Yanagi, in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 2, 2025
Profitable Fukushima companies closing due to lack of successors
According to Teikoku Databank, more than a third of the companies that went out of business in the prefecture in 2024 were in the black.
The lack of quick and easy tests has until now slowed the rollout of new Alzheimer’s drugs.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 20, 2025
First blood test for Alzheimer’s to be available in U.S. in June
The test will initially be available at about 50 American research institutes and hospitals that specialize in Alzheimer’s disease.
Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
May 12, 2025
What comes after 100?
The number of Japanese centenarians is on the rise, providing new models for how to live in a super-aging society.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’