Japanese elderly

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Japan Hits a Gray Milestone
Japan Hits a
Gray Milestone

Japan Hits a Gray Milestone

Nation clocks in with more than 10% of population over age 80 for first time

(Newser) - It is very, very common knowledge that the median age of Japan's population is, well, not associated with the term "spring chicken." With what the BBC reports is the planet's oldest population—the yardstick there being the percentage of people 65 or older, of which Japan...

Adult Diapers Are a Scourge in Japan—and an Opportunity

Rather than incinerating them, diapers are starting to be recycled

(Newser) - It's a somewhat ominous-sounding sentence, but the comparison isn't as grim as it seems: "The operations slightly evoke the factory scenes from Soylent Green, the 1973 dystopian thriller in which nutrition wafers are made from human remains." So write Motoko Rich and Makiko Inoue for the...

Now in Japan: Drive-Thru Funerals
Now in Japan:
Drive-Thru
Funerals

Now in Japan: Drive-Thru Funerals

Aging population is impetus behind move

(Newser) - For those in wheelchairs or with other mobility issues, funerals can be tricky to navigate. And in Japan, where 1.43 million people are expected to die annually by 2020, the need for a solution is pressing, reports the Japan Times . Enter Kankon Sousai Aichi Group, based in central Nagano...

IBM Working on Bot to Help Elderly Age at Home

Sensors can detect motion, scent, audio, and more

(Newser) - Assisted living facilities and personal nurses aren't exactly cheap. And as the Baby Boomer generation ages, finding affordable means of helping people age in the comfort of their own homes could be good not just for seniors, but for their wallets, too. So IBM is working on a prototype...

How We Keep Track of Those Who Make It to Age 110

Only 72 supercentenarians confirmed to be alive today, all but 2 are women

(Newser) - Making it to 100 is a huge feat—only 1 in 5,000 Americans do. But making it to 110 (and gaining the title supercentenarian) is thousands of times harder—only 1 in 5 million do, according to Time . The volunteer-based Gerontology Research Group has been tracking these elderly elite,...

Japan Official: Sick Old Folks Should 'Hurry Up and Die'
Japan Official: Sick Old Folks Should 'Hurry Up and Die'
in case you missed it

Japan Official: Sick Old Folks Should 'Hurry Up and Die'

It would save the government a lot of money, says finance minister

(Newser) - And the award for compassion showed by a politician when talking about a touchy issue goes to Japan finance minister Taro Aso. While addressing the heavy state costs of medical care for the elderly, he said:
  • "I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being
...

Money-Packed Safes Wash Up in Japan

Problem acute in a nation where many elderly do not use banks

(Newser) - Last month's devastating earthquake in Japan has created an unexpected problem—there's cash everywhere. Many people in Japan, especially the elderly, stash their money at home, and hundreds, if not thousands, of safes filled with valuables that were washed away in the massive tsunami are turning up. But identifying the...

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