Tag - elderly

 
 

ELDERLY

A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 26, 2024
Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years
The rise in life expectancy may possibly be a reflection of a drop in fatality rates for COVID-19 patients.
Ama female free divers, who fish in the ocean, lead volunteers as they swim with torches during Shirahama Ama festival in Minamiboso, Chiba Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2024
Short of ama female free divers, Chiba festival turns to volunteers
Age and disinterest have reduced the number of women willing to make a livelihood out of this type of diving.
Elderly people dance in a park in Beijing on Jan. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 22, 2024
China to allow delayed retirement to combat population woes
The country is struggling to relieve soaring pressure on pension budgets, with many provinces already facing deficits.
A passerby holding a parasol wipes her face as she walks on the street amid a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures, in Tokyo on July 9.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 19, 2024
How to prevent and respond to heatstroke in Japan this summer
Staying hydrated and controlling the rise in one's body temperature are the fundamental ways for preventing and alleviating heat-related illnesses.
Diaper products for babies and adults are displayed at a factory of Daio Paper's subsidiary Elleair in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, in June.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2024
Japan's diaper-makers look to adult market for revenue as births fall
Japan's population is likely to decline by about 30% to 87 million by 2070, with 4 people in every 10 at the age of 65 or more, estimates show.
Beds that once were used by children to take naps at a kindergarten-turned-elderly center in Taiyuan, in China's northern Shanxi province, on July 2
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Jul 13, 2024
Chinese kindergartens pivot to senior care as population ages
Some educational facilities are remaking themselves as a recreational center for people of retirement age and above.
Municipalities across the country have been devising various ways to keep track of the whereabouts of individuals with dementia.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 5, 2024
Record 19,000 people with dementia reported missing in Japan in 2023
The figure is nearly twice that of a decade earlier, according to the National Police Agency.
The labor ministry plans to compile a report on foreign workers by the end of fiscal 2024 and use it to improve measures to secure and retain foreign human resources.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2024
Japan to survey job changes by foreign care workers
The labor ministry aims to improve measures to secure and retain foreign human resources.
A nursing home in Ishikawa Prefecture. Wage increases in other industries have made the nursing care sector less attractive.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 4, 2024
Over 80 nursing homes in Japan went bankrupt in first half
Rising costs and a severe manpower shortage are the main reasons driving care providers out of business.
The proportion of public pension benefit payments to disposable income of working generations in Japan is projected to drop to a little over 50% in 33 years.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2024
Japan public pension benefit rate seen falling to 50% in fiscal year 2057
The calculations are based on assumptions that the economy will maintain a certain level of growth and that the population will remain the same.
Masayoshi Tani on June 12 visits his house in the Fukami district of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was destroyed and isolated by the Jan. 1 earthquake.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2024
Temporary housing brings relief to Noto quake survivors, but fears remain
The uncertainty of whether they can return to their original homes and rebuild takes a toll on survivors, many of whom who are elderly and living on pensions.
Kiyoshie Saruwaka, 74, a member of Ara Style Senior — Japan's only breakdancing club made up of older citizens — practices a move known as "chair freeze" in Tokyo on April 26.
OLYMPICS / Breakdancing
Jun 30, 2024
Inspired by Olympics debut, Japan's seniors blaze breakdancing trail
Ara Style Senior is Japan's only breaking club made up of older citizens.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, speaking in the city of Osaka on Thursday, explains his plan to propose measures to protect people from fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2024
Osaka governor eyes ban on mobile phone calls at ATMs
The proposal is part of an effort to protect elderly people from fraud.
The Cabinet Office's latest white paper on Japan's aging society predicts that the percentage of people age 65 and above will reach 38.7% of the country's population by 2070.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2024
More of Japan’s elderly are lonely and have fewer friends, white paper says
Less than half of respondents age 65 years and above polled in 2023 said they had at least an average number of friends, compared with 72.2% in 2018.
Residents at a residential facility for the elderly in Sapporo show off their nails after getting them done during an on-site training session for welfare nail technicians in May.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 20, 2024
'Welfare manicures' bring a touch of color to the lives of Japan’s elderly
The practice, which took off in 2012, has been well-received among residents of care facilities for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Tomiji Suzuki (back) attends a workshop in Tokyo. The 89-year-old is now making apps for the fast-growing elderly demographic, using ChatGPT to fine-tune his skills.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2024
ChatGPT a mentor for 89-year-old app developer
So far, Tomiji Suzuki has developed 11 free iPhone apps to help Japan's aging population.
In 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2024
Is China too old to get rich?
By 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
A driving course inside a new facility in the city of Saitama created for elderly drivers
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024
Saitama police open Japan's first elderly driver training center
Drivers 70 and older have to undergo sessions consisting of driving instruction and classroom lectures, as well as cognitive tests.
Local governments are stepping up support for single elderly people, to tackle the issue of unclaimed bodies.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2024
Japan's municipalities take action to tackle issue of unclaimed bodies
A spate of incidents involving unclaimed bodies has led to the formulation of measures to provide end-of-life support to single elderly people.
With a number of elderly people living alone increasing in Japan, the welfare ministry plans to conduct a survey of municipalities' responses to unclaimed bodies and remains.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 9, 2024
Japan to conduct first survey on unclaimed bodies
The number of unclaimed remains stored by municipalities stood at some 60,000 as of October 2021, according to an internal affairs ministry survey released in 2023.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals