Japan: New Ways to Grow Old - Part One

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2018

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Japan has the fastest ageing society in the world with more than a quarter of its population over the age of 65. It currently has 66,000 centenarians, more than any other country. Toshiko Katayose and Aki Maruyama Leggett explore some of the innovative ways in which Japanese people are adapting to living longer.

For over 20 years Toshiko Katayose edited Japan’s most popular magazine for senior readers. Now 67 and facing retirement, she reveals how her generation of baby-boomers born after World War Two, are overturning stereotypes about old age and how businesses are responding to these more demanding silver consumers. She visits Japan’s first supermarket built specifically to serve older shoppers which offers everything from crystal-studded walking sticks to try-before-you-buy coffin experiences.

(Photo: A cornucopia of stylish walking sticks at Japan’s first supermarket for older consumers. Credit: Mukti Jain Campion)

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the BBC World Service, welcome to the latest edition of the documentary podcast.
0:06.0	Every week we bring you a range of stories from our presenters and reporters across the world.
0:11.0	Please do rate the documentary on your podcast app and leave a
0:14.8	comment. Let us know what you think. Right now Japan is experiencing an
0:20.9	unprecedented demographic revolution.
0:24.0	27% of Japan's population is now over the age of 65
0:31.0	that will grow to 30% by 2025 and by 2025 it will reach 40%
0:40.0	there are currently 66,000 people here who are over 100 years old, 87% of whom are women.
0:50.0	This is an astonishing number of segenerians, a first in the world's history.
0:55.0	My name is Toshiko Kataiose. I'm 67 years old and for the past 20 years I've been editing a popular magazine for seniors in Japan
1:07.7	Many of the readers are like me from the baby boomer generation that was born just after the end of the Second World War.
1:15.6	We have a very different outlook on ageing to that of our parents.
1:20.6	In Japan, there are 6.8 million baby boomers born between
1:27.4	1947 and 1949 who are now turning 70 years old and this is forcing a big change in a society.
1:36.0	It's a hero-yki says.
1:38.0	Herouki Itzki, the 85-year-old best-selling author,
1:42.0	is a well-respected voice for older people in Japan.
1:47.0	A lot of other countries will follow this path in the new future, So if Japan can show how successfully we can deal with a
1:56.4	super-aging society, that's a big contribution we could make to the world.
2:02.4	In this series, with the help of my English speaking friend,
2:07.0	Akymaria Malaget, whose voice you're hearing now,
2:10.0	will be exploring some of the innovative ways that Japanese people are facing up to
	...

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