Mizuki KawashukudaGlobal falling mortality and fertility rates are resulting declining birthrates and aging populations. According to United Nations, the world’s population continues to grow, but the pace of growth is slowing down. 9.7% of the population is 65 or older in 2022, and it is expected to rise to 16.4% by 2050.
Especially Japan has the world’s highest aging rate. This fact got attention by prominent U.S. businessman Elon Musk on Twitter, “At the risk of stating the obvious, unless something changes to cause the birth rate to exceed the death rate, Japan will eventually cease to exist. This would be a great loss for the world.”
In addition to economic problems such as a declining labor force, Japan is experiencing a labor shortage in the welfare sector. Lonely deaths among the elderly due to social isolation are also becoming more prominent. On the other hand, Japan, the fastest aging country in the world, can share some of its unique solutions to tackle this problem.
Nursing home where the person being cared for also plays a role
Aoi care Co. Ltd. is providing services to help the elderly live their own lives with peace of mind. It operates residences in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, for older people needing nursing care and those with dementia.
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In residences where all home care is provided by one office, communication between neighbors is frequent, and they visit, cook meals and sometimes shop together. The dementia residence consists of public spaces and private rooms, providing a home-like environment where they can live a humane life and deter the progress of dementia. For example, they can harvest vegetables in the garden and play with the dog that lives with them in-house.
Aoi care also started “NOBISHIRO HOUSE,” a multigenerational apartment complex in Fujisawa City in 2021. It promotes mutual help between the elderly and young people.
The young people who live here as residents are social workers, and in exchange for half the rent, they are required to greet the elderly residents daily and host a tea party once a month. On the other hand, the elderly pay a slightly higher rent than the market rate to assist the young people.
In addition, a community space with a cafe, laundry, and local medical center is located next to the residence, which can be used by both the residents and locals.
Similar to how daily socializing with neighbors were commonplace in old Japan, they attempt to prevent isolation by providing opportunities for elderly residents to get to know their tenants and neighbors and to create a town where locals care about each other and can live in peace and security. In fact, in this apartment building, you can see young people taking older people to the station when they commute to work and older people sharing their dinner dishes with young people and teaching them how to cook.
And now, to ensure that the elderly are not only supported but also live as human beings, they are planning to provide housekeeping services, such as labeling coffee sold at cafes and folding laundry at laundromats for them.
Utilizing vacant houses to create places where people of all ages can gather
“Engao” in Tochigi Prefecture focuses on isolated elderly people who live alone and have no one to rely on. They are tackling the isolation by creating a place where everyone can gather, including older people, young people, and people with disabilities.
Therefore, they are utilizing six vacant houses within a 2-minute walk to support the lives of the elderly, create a community salon and a place for children, create a base for young people’s activities, a local cafeteria, and a group home for people with disabilities.
Local communities will be a key for supporting aging society
With an expected shortage of medical personnel, revitalizing local communities will be key to ensuring that older people can live in peace and comfort like human beings until the end of their lives. We expect to see more initiatives to make it commonplace for society to provide care together.
If you would like to support their activities, here are the links:
[Website] Aoi care Co. Ltd.[Website] Engao
