At the age of 85, Ikuko Arai on November 30. She says she is happy to step back from her role at a non-profit organization in the capital Tokyo, but she is also more than a little worried.
Arai lives alone since her husband died 16 years ago, and she fears that stopping work is going to leave her isolated from Japanese society — and possibly lead to a “lonely death.”
It is a common refrain in a country with a rapidly aging population. A report published by Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security research in late November concluded that single-person households will account for 44.3% of the nationwide total by 2050. The figure rises to 54.1% in Tokyo.
The number of people aged 65 or older living alone is projected to rise to 10.83 million by 2050, a 1.5-fold increase from the 2020 figure.
Anxiety of being alone
“The anxiety of being alone is immense,” Arai told DW. “I could list all the worries that I have, but I’ll do my best for as long as I am well.
“Until now, I have not felt socially isolated because of my work, and I was always busy, but now I have retired, and I will no longer have that to occupy me, so this is my moment of truth,” she said.
“I plan to try to implement strategies so I can avoid becoming isolated.”
After 32 years working for the Women’s Association for a Better Aging Society (WABAS), where she eventually rose to become secretary general, Arai has a firm understanding of the challenges facing older people in Japan’s fast-paced society.
“We founded the association in 1983 with a mission of rescuing wives from constantly having to provide nursing care for the elderly, to promote the socialization of nursing care and to make Japanese society a better place for the elderly to live,” she said.
“In our society, it has long been assumed that caring for elderly parents is the role of the oldest son and his wife and that because men work, then his wife has to alter her career and life plans to look after the parents,” she added.
“But that has changed dramatically,” Arai said.
“We are living in an era in which old people no longer live with their children and grandchildren in one home, and they live by themselves. Many, especially women, want their independence and say they can get by on their pensions and savings, but there are obvious downsides.”
facing older people when their children do not live nearby.
They may experience financial difficulties, particularly when their health declines.
Arai says there is growing concern among the elderly community over organized criminal groups that actively target old people who live alone. The country has seen a spate of break-ins, including cases in which old people were injured or even killed by intruders.
Safer society
“We want the government to create a society that is safe for old people once more,” Arai said. “We feel it is time to increase the number of community watchdog groups and to find ways to help the elderly to create new bonds in their neighborhoods.”
The challenges for elderly people in modern-day Japan are immense, agrees Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of the economics of aging at Tohoku University.
He said to ensure that old people don’t spend their final days alone and suffer “kodokushi,” the Japanese term that translates as lonely death.
“The average longevity of Japanese people is well into their 80s now and, in the future, it may come close to even 100 years old, but we are seeing more physical and mental health problems in these older people, which is adding stresses to the healthcare system,” he told DW.
“Social isolation is now so much of a problem in urban areas of the country, but more needs to be done to increase communication between older people in rural regions,” Yoshida said.
He pointed to international studies that have detected a link between elderly people who live alone suffering from loneliness, falling self-esteem and worsening health problems.
Japan is getting old
“To cope with this the government needs to set up networks that allow people to communicate with each other more easily and to arrange shared social activities,” he said.
“That will help the physical and mental health of this generation and reduce the financial burden of taking care of people because they are healthier and happier,” he added.
Like Arai, Yoshida believes that women are the solution to Japan’s aging society. He advocates for not obliging women of working age to become carers for older relatives as this strips them of a career, greater incomes and spending power, which would in turn help boost consumption and the overall economy.
“We need more women in the workforce to improve overall productivity in the economy, and that will inevitably mean that men need to help out more around the home,” he added.
Edited by: Shamil Shams
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