Japan NGO Council on Ageing (JANCA), in collaboration with the University of Tokyo Institute of Gerontology, held the 2nd Research Forum on an Aged Society on January 14th (Th.) from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine Experimental Research Building Seminar Room. The goal of this forum is to study activities of senior citizens and their social impact on Japanese society, the most aged nation in the world.
The forum consisted of 3 sessions. At the 1st session, Mr. Shigeyoshi Yoshida (Executive Director, JANCA) reported results of JANCA Opinion Survey that was conducted in the summer of 2009. At the 2nd session, Mr. Yoshikazu Goto (Deputy Director, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) made a speech on active social participation among senior citizens. The last session was a discussion by experts on roles of senior citizens.
A summary of JANCA Opinion Survey results is available in print (Japanese only, 1,000 yen). If a reader would like to obtain a copy, please contact JANCA (Tel: +81-3-3542-0363; E-mail: info@jarc.net).
The following is a summary of the forum.
JANCA Opinion Survey Report
Presenter: Mr. Shigeyoshi Yoshida (Executive Director, JANCA)
This mail survey was conducted from June to September, 2009. The subjects were 2,000 middle-aged and older persons throughout the country who were associated with JANCA member organizations, of whom 1,040 responded (response rate: 52.0%). Questions included subjects’ age, sex, living arrangement, health status, social activities, hobbies, media usage, foods, housing, and opinions on social policies and services. While most of the studies on older persons focus on vulnerable groups who need support and/or care, this survey focused on healthy older persons. Hence, this survey provides valuable data to understand older persons from a different perspective.
About 56% of the respondents were males, and over 70% were aged 65 or over. More than a half (51.9%) live only with a spouse, followed by a spouse and child(ren) (22.3%) and living alone (11.3%). Also, 82.0% reported pension as the primary income source.
A number of respondents seemed to enjoy their lives through communicating with others. For example, 61.1% enjoy hobbies, and over a half enjoy meeting with friends (55.1%) and families (50.9%). Regarding health status, while 81.4% consider themselves healthy, 65.5% also identified their own health as their concern and worry.
As for social activities, over 90% of the respondents, except for females aged 75 or over, were involved in some kind of activities. Some were active even though their health was not good. The overall social activity participation rate was 93%, which seemed quite high compared with older persons in general. Many were involved in unpaid volunteer work (41.8%) and community activities (38.3%).
When asked where they obtained news, most of the respondents reported newspapers (88.1%) and TV (85.1%). Females aged 70 or over were particularly likely to watch TV. Also, the most frequently used transportation was public transportation systems (56.7%) followed by walking (52.2%).
Regarding housing, almost 90% intended to continue living in the current place, and this response was particularly common among those aged 75 or over. Moreover, when asked about the future housing preference, approximately 80% chose the current housing.
The survey also asked about what the respondents eat and drink. The overwhelming majority of them (96.4%) eat rice as a staple food. The most popular drink was Japanese tea (78.3%), followed by coffee (58.5%) and water (41.3%), and the most popular alcoholic beverage was beer (51.2%). However, 24.3% reported they did not drink any alcoholic beverages. When asked about who prepare meals, 92.6% of females chose themselves and 87.8% of males chose spouse. It is quite interesting that 31.8% of males also chose themselves while only 9.6% of females chose spouse.
The most popular indoor hobby was reading (64.5%), followed by music (36.1%) and watching movies/DVDs (25.2%). However, there are gender differences. While reading, Go (oriental board game) and Shogi (Japanese chess) are quite popular among males, exchanging letters/e-mails and cooking are popular hobbies among females. As for outdoor hobbies, traveling was the most popular (52.3%), followed by going to a concert/theater (34.3%) and gardening/bonsai care (27.1%). It is noteworthy that 7.8% of males in early 70s take a cooking class.
We also asked about what the respondents though would be needed in the society, and we reflected a part of the responses in JANCA’s Recommendations (August, 2009). The most common response was “to build a society-oriented nation where every generation can live with rich spirit (63.0%),” followed by “to review social policies and systems to make them more suitable for a longevity society (53.5%).” As for the systems and services that the respondents thought would be nice to have, the most popular one was “savings and insurance programs that are tax exempt up to a certain amount and correspond to the terminal period (59.8%),” followed by “a nationwide reverse mortgage system that are run jointly by public and private sectors (42.5%).” The respondents also presented their own recommendations, including “unifying Health Notes throughout one’s life” and “providing the incentive for older persons who try to stay healthy.”
Respondents were asked at the last section of the questionnaire to recommend companies that pursue CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities. Approximately 100 companies were recommended by the respondents, and the highest number of votes (12 votes) went to Shiseido.
The purpose of this opinion survey was to develop recommendations. JANCA has conducted 6 opinion surveys since 2000. Unfortunately, however, our society has not yet paid much attention to healthy older persons. This kind of study is quite important in order to understand the impact of older persons, who may play central roles in the aged society, on society and economy. We hope the results of this survey will provide useful information.
(The results of this survey was further discussed later at an additional study group, providing interesting insights. Please click →（http://www.jarc.net/int/?p=328） for the additional information on the survey.)
Social Participation Among Active Seniors: Examples and Future Expectations
Speaker: Mr. Yoshikazu Goto (Deputy Director, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
Today I would like to introduce several active seniors from 2 perspectives: “product development” and “ability to think.”
Experience plays an essential role in product development, and there are many places where people aged over 70 can do a wonderful job. For example, the head of a 6-employee company Okano Industrial Corporation, which has developed “painless injection needles” and won the 2005 Good Design Award, was born in 1933. The second example is Mr. Watanabe, the leader of ISMAN J Corporation that developed a new industrial material Meramix and received the Senior Award of 2007 Japan Venture Awards. He started his business when he was 64 and is now in his 70s. Another example, that is less “technical” than the above 2 examples, is Mr. Fukami at Kanso Corporation who is in his 70s. Over 10 years ago, he became sick and was unable to turn his head for a while. That was when he came up with the idea of developing a reflecting sticker that assists back-in parking. The stickers that are put on the wall of a parking space can reflect the car’s taillight, so that a driver can easily see them with side mirrors. The company has sold more than 10,000 sets nationwide.
As for “ability to think,” there are also a number of senior citizens who are quite active in the research field. One example is older students at Nihon Fukushi University Graduate Program, where I teach. They are wonderful mentors for younger students. One of those older students, who researched economic impact of the community for his thesis, was asked by local people to get involved in various activities. Also, while younger researchers tend to be pressured to produce outcomes, older persons can take their time to study what they do not know and would like to study. Newspapers introduce a number of such cases. For example, an older researcher proved that mantises predict the amount of snow. Another person analyzed writing styles of Yasunari Kawabata (novelist) and concluded that his writing styles had changed after World War II.
As these examples show, there are many opportunities for senior citizens to stay active and to learn.
It is not too late.
Discussion: Roles of Senior Citizens
Moderator: Ms. Keiko Higuchi (Co-chair, JANCA)
Panelists: Mr. Yoshikazu Goto (Deputy Director, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), Mr. Tsutomu Hotta (Co-chair, JANCA) and Mr. Shigeyoshi Yoshida (Executive Director, JANCA)
Higuchi: The proportion of the elderly keeps growing, and now 1 in every 4 people is aged 65 or over and 1 in every 10 people is aged 75 or over. Along with longer life expectancies, we need to build more positive relationships between the elderly and the time they have. In other words, it is time to reconsider the roles of senior citizens. The image of the elderly will change in the future, and new ideas will emerge. For example, work will become a big part of their social activities, and grandparenting roles will become more significant. The intergtenerational relationship is also an important agenda at AARP. In this context, I would like to have opinions on roles of senior citizens from each of you.
Hotta: Humans are the only species that keep normal livings after bearing and raising children. But this has been true only in recent years. For the first time in the animal history, we have an issue on how to spend time after raising children. Humans, as the frontrunners, need to think about what we live for. My opinion is, we live “for ourselves” and we cherish our lives. I would like each of you here to think about exactly how we can pursue this. I think it is important that we make good use of our talents and enjoy living. It is also important to create roles in various situations. And then, we would like to be role models for younger people.
Higuchi: I agree with you, especially on “enjoying life.” We are the first generation to be role models. The other day, Ms. Yukiko Ohkuma (Professor, International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School) and Ms. Chizuko Ueno (Professor, The University of Tokyo) and I had a talk. This is scheduled to be published, and we have already decided that its title would be “Onna Zakari (The prime of womanhood).” Isn’t it also older persons’ role to bring colors to our lives?
Yoshida: From the survey we conducted, I feel the passion among active older persons so that people could pursue happy lives.
Higuchi: Mr. Goto, what do you think of your parents’ generation? Also, how do you feel as you are about to become a senior citizen?
Goto: My mother is the same age as Ms. Higuchi. When I talk with people at small companies, I keep saying “Your life has just begun.” Even when their biological and family roles change, older people can remain active in new fields, including hobbies. I will be retiring in a few years, but I cannot see the clear future. So I would like to have some advice from my seniors.
Hotta: Everyone is the hero/heroine no matter how old he/she is. Under any circumstances, I would like to keep this spirit until the end. My impression is that middle-aged and younger generations really do not understand older persons. Many people who work in the welfare field seem to think that they should do something “FOR” older persons. Likewise, they do not seem to understand children. I would like them to understand that children are also heroes and heroines, no different from themselves. If this happens, then the welfare efforts will change, leading to the real dignity.
Higuchi: Last year I was certified as a person needing support (Support Level 1). It was only for half a year, but I learned a lot from this valuable experience. As a famous person who needs care, how could I be the vulnerable with dignity? I would keep my head low, but I would like to live with pride. You cannot fight your age. We may have longer lives to live, but there is always an end to our lives no matter what we did in working days.
Hotta: The ultimate dignity will be how to keep our pride when we become physically and/or socially vulnerable. I would like to become a “charming person.” Such people are good at using others. Making the best use of my “charm,” I would like to be “selfish grandpa” and fulfill my life. On the other hand, healthy older persons, particularly males who used to work for government or big companies, tend not to rely on other people.
Yoshida: We would also like to hear comments from the audience. First, I would like Professor Saito, an expert on healthy life expectancies, to give us comments, followed by Dr. Sunwoo, who was a great contributor in building Korean long-term care insurance, and Mr. Fujii, who has rich experiences in facilities for older persons.
Saito: Like life expectancies, healthy life expectancies are also getting longer. The important thing is to raise the proportion of healthy life expectancies. We also need to do research on why life expectancies are getting longer. For example, it may be affected by life-support equipments like tube feeding. I also learned a lot from Ms. Higuchi’s experience as a person who receive care.
Sunwoo: I learned many things today. Those who “need support (less severe care needs)” in Japan are not part of a Korean long-term care insurance system. Yet, health of this population group is a big issue. I think it is important to understand and do research on healthy older persons for preventive purposes as well.
Fujii: As I worked at facilities for older persons, I felt that residents and staff perform their roles in the given time and place and that how they perform those roles would affect how they see the facility. But it is difficult to keep performing 24 hours a day. I now work in the disability field, and aging of this population group is a big challenge. Regarding the effective use of time, it seems to me that people who actively use their free time are enjoying their lives.
Lastly, Ms. Higuchi made a concluding comment that she hoped older persons would be part of the changing force for the society by getting involved in recommendations and research.
Yoshiko Yamada
Researcher, Japan Aging Research Center
