There are many stories in the news recently about how populations in the developed world are aging. As a country with a higher average lifespan (>7 years more than the USA), Japan has felt the impact of these changing demographics more than others: there are some things we can learn from them.
Minette and I both have seen from our own parents and grandparents their desire to be self-supporting as long as possible and not to be a burden to their children. We are also both part of families that are spread out geographically around the US and Canada. This story plays out in many families in the Western world and it’s a very different one from a few generations ago. The current version of extended family reinforces individuality and personal responsibility: what’s lost is the built-in care and companionship that comes from living directly with our extended families in tightly coupled communities.
Kodokushi (Lonely Death). In Japan, younger people are moving to the cities where they can get work and the traditional family and community structures are changing. At the extreme end of the consequences of this social change is that more elderly are dying alone. The Japanese have a term for this: Kodokushi, or lonely death.
We can see lots of analysis from the IMF, EU, and various research institutes looking at the impacts of Japan’s aging population - all pointing at the financial issues with having fewer workers, the higher pressure on pensions and healthcare systems. Less common are people looking at the human side of things, where an aging population fits in, and how they can be important members of society.
There’s no doubt that the financial matters keep a capitalist country running, but what is the country if it’s not its people? What do improvements in lifespan give us if we’re just trudging towards a lonely death?
Loneliness. There’s a much deeper look at the underlying reasons for loneliness in Japan here at the Tokyo Weekender. In 2021, with the problem further exacerbated by the isolation of COVID shutdowns, Japan followed the UK by appointing a “minister of loneliness”. There aren’t a lot of answers from this ministry yet, with both Japan and the UK talking about funding help lines, pointing people at meeting online, and programs to promote social engagement. It just seems like these are bandaid approaches to the societal shift that has reduced traditional community structures, tight social bonds, and physical contact.
Moai. Analysis of the Okinawan people living in one of the “Blue Zones” show that not only do the typically their lives with a strong sense of purpose, they also belong to strong social groups - Moai - throughout life. They have lifelong friends and a social support group who they can interact with directly, daily or weekly.
It’s much easier to go through life knowing there is a safety net.
— Moai—This Tradition is Why Okinawan People Live Longer, Better
It’s really difficult to see how government programs can come close to providing (or rebuilding) this type of tight knit community. The solution needs to come from us.
Work at it. The problems related to an aging populace are coming to this side of the Pacific as well. It’s estimated that we are living longer by 0.2 years per year, so every 5 years you get an extra 1. With improvements in environment, nutrition, and medicine that rate is expected to increase. So where does that leave us with Strong99, trying to thrive later in an extending life? It leaves us needing to be quite proactive about building and maintaining our social network of family, friends, and other like-minded communities. As a professed introvert this sounds daunting but I can take the advice of my parents and continue to take part in more and more different circles of interest.
Further Reading.
Here’s some counterpoint from Dr. Petter Attia - Does solitude equate to loneliness?
A great synopsis of information about the Blue Zones - Lessons from the Blue Zones®
Annnd, because there is a mind-blowingly good AI chatbot preview available (seriously, sign up and see what kind of things you can have it write), I’ll let it have the last word: