Work until you're 100 - Japan's Incredible Life Expectancy (2010)

long life the cultural beauty of Japan has long captain of the world recently however this global attention has had a different focus Japan is facing a dramatic demographic development 30 million Japanese people are now over 65 life expectancy here is extended by 25 years in the past four decades it is now the highest in the world here in Japan it gets harder every year the problems with the elderly are only more difficult to master for example hospitals can barely accommodate more old people sons will have to bear this burden instead then when your family must care for you this brings the rhythm of the family into utter confusion and another problem is when they all have to look after the even older how do I get your nice Okinawa a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean is a starting point for journey through an aging society if the West can learn something from the elderly Japanese it is here nowhere else are there so many old people Okinawa is the ideal place to reach a truly biblical age at 70 year old child a teenager at 80 and at 90 call to your ancestors in the sky - please wait until you are hundred to meet you that is the motto written on a stone block in the village of a gimme the women Okinawa hold the record at the highest life expectancy in the world at 86 years several centenarians also populate the island so what is their secret Sooey tiara maybe 92 but she still Labor's in the field singing traditional songs as she works you see Cory today I get to live in me honey you gotta - Annie Walker ID with an audience Dickinson I get a regulate seven o'clock pray to my deceased husband go to the field and the coast in the afternoon I played gate ball with my friends I cannot afford to be motionless movement is one of the secrets to our health here in Okinawa in a small restaurant in Okinawa Amica kyndra only serves food that was supposedly prolong life the small dishes are mostly vegetarian and almost all low in calories diners are not allowed to reach saturation only up to 80% of the stomach is ever filled most old people live alone yet life here is not lonely conversations with neighbors and decades of friendships hold society together here Kushina shake Astana change energetic recipe with my husband I used to go hiking which was the best time for me after his death I felt very sad now I have my life force back we support each other without my friends I wouldn't go anywhere in this village there's not enough land to cultivate so the boys are leaving and only the elderly remain but they have remained strong even if they are 100 they want to do anything to live on they have friends neighbours and live like a big family they want to control their own lives the last breath the positive mental attitude to life that's what counts the old veera model for us all not only in a can our initiative is the homelessness playing gate ball a faster version of croquet the elderly appear quite youthful but traditions change slowly even knock an hour in Vegas Coriana it worries me very much that our sons no longer follow our traditions they eat American fast food the play computer games and don't spend time outdoors it is very doubtful they'll reach our age they had to close schools here because the young absent who will provide for us soul peace a completely different way of life for older people is found in the Zen monastery daidouji a 3:30 a.m. the day begins get up clean meditate everything is formal and ritualized no Japanese Zen Buddhism more and more often older Japanese are submitting to the rigid rules they call it escapism a search the ideal world in troubled times monks like kanya Kaguya have chosen to adapt this extreme way of life it is the rejection of a world that has become alien to him why not continue to search a spiritual meaning and question of values in old age in days gone by the elderly in this part of Japan used to just go into the mountains to die when they can no longer contribute to society zeal Tokyo this is the world from which the monks flee it is a place of restlessness stress and overwork especially for older people but in the Sugamo quarter the elderly are among their own kind here they can find what they want the market is tailored to their needs in Tokyo the elderly often work up to their death only 20% of pensioners have effectively retired working to old age seems a privilege in the second largest industrial nation in the world it is seen as playing an important role in society many also have to work in order to cope financially the pensions are meager you at the Shinto shrine the elderly gathered to ease their aches and pains body parts that hurt are covered with incense anyone who calls a taxi in Tokyo will often have drivers who have gone long past retirement age like yes are you she Matsu the global economic crisis is very noticeable in Japan he has sleepless nights worrying about it Lincoln Doge is your mother obviously the economy is doing poorly the pensions are very low in Japan without additional work it would be impossible to survive I'm healthy and will remain active as long as possible as I am doing so are millions of other Japanese people because historically Shizuku takahashi is a member of parliament her party has risen strongly in the last elections she is critical of the fact that so far Japan has hardly laid any emphasis on social policy ha & korek at the in itself it is good that we have a society that is so old and that people live so long but the problem is that there are hardly any young people soon every worker will have to provide for an old person and poverty among the elderly will continue to rise already 20% of LD Japanese live on the poverty line no one takes notice of them and they die alone this is a reality that frightens me don't need to quit on Monday there to talk many old people lose their position in society more and more elderly unemployed people line the pavement to the big cities like here in Tokyo sanur district they kill time waiting for odd jobs feeding the poor is funded by private donations the state looks away one-third of all suicides in Japan are now committed by someone over 65 or world-record standing in line for food distribution in the north of Tokyo more and more elderly Japanese are taking part in such seems unworthy of wealthy Japan lifetime employment and seniority that is now history in Japan well we do with halyard cram it I come here because I meet friends and get to eat I had a job until I was 65 now I live from one day to the next the sociologist I Abe predicts a sharpening of the distribution struggle between old and young most people now feel very pessimistic about Japan's future because one of the main reason is the ageing of the population and our armed public social outlay is increasing very rapidly because of the pensions and health and health coverage for the elderly and that is not going to change for a while because our our you know population aging is going to go on for some time in future and that means fewer and fewer working age generation has to support the elderly and many people are very pessimistic about that they appeal that they have to burden they had to be at 40 more and more just to support the elderly metropolis at Ueno Park in Tokyo people are relaxing during the cherry blossom season it is a time when different generations can come together as many as 90% of young Japanese say they would like children having only one child has long been customary in Japanese families the work environment keeps many from starting to raise a family today a third of young Japanese are no longer in permanent job role for the first time the descent into poverty has become a frightening real prospect for many people the aging society arouses fears particularly amongst boys trust in the National Pension has decreased especially in a trendy district of Harajuku the younger generation sees itself as a disadvantage good jobs are hard to find and a pension fund requires their input but what are they getting in return yes we accept the old but the big problem for our generation is that we are now paying their rent my dad has threatened me that if I stop paying it I should leave the country second I think the young generation is feeling a lot of what should I say that they're getting the shortest shorter side of the stick kind of feeling because our public pension system and our public health insurance system is is a pay-as-you-go system so that younger generation is paying for the elderly populations pensions and health insurance coverage and that burden is getting quite high and we now know that younger generation when they grow up they wouldn't be able to get as high much of as much of pension as the older generation are getting now the issues you family live on the outskirts of Tokyo two children have become rare in Japanese families but the recently increased Child Benefit is providing the means to have more children again how do young families like this see the challenges of the future Norway Belgium you'll analyze the population lives very long in Japan for those over 60 there should be enough jobs the government should ensure this I think this would take the stress off the young families the elderly would also be able to be more independent so opera Hatake reluctant Azad the Mojito moon there's only one who knew indeed after ignores keen ahead there's no I'll probably get both my own and my husband's parents to take care of if things go badly economically in Japan it will be very difficult for us country life in the province of Kyoto the priorities are very different to those in the city living amongst nature is important as is the maintenance of traditions this is the Sakamoto family's farm what was once common is now increasingly rare three generations living together under one roof so do I have done we may see or it may already be a great burden for the boy to take care of us for everybody it is exhausting we are privileged because our sons care about us we must occasionally take some of the load and get involved to show gratitude then we can function well in living together another to do so no kind of city divider power of the Spirit the gion district in the old imperial city of kyoto as in earlier times the role of women is still important today in creating social developments in Japan divorces are piling up between retired couples mostly it is the women who applied for the separation to be able to enjoy a retirement without the burden of a bored and awkward spouse such problems do not exist in the mysterious world of the geishas however how do they deal with the burden of aging the white master the geishas are a symbol of aloofness and discretion the first entertainment districts emerge in the 17th century the visitors were looking for amusement romance and witty entertainment ensuring they got this was the Geisha Yukie kudi leads the Geisha House age is not an issue for them in their world view it no no just an if you feel old you are old everything is old to you that's all but if you think you are young then everything is young it depends on the mental attitude I was very sick and almost gave up but I had never resigned a positive attitude is a secret to a long life so no - Eva Borneo no yo-yo Seto kasi given Jin Takei janakute a a no Sica in Estonia mosaic a I know you all know even if you're older you need to look pretty everyone can come to my house and become a Geisha I always say you should look as beautiful as possible put makeup that as pretty as possible on your face then you'll remain physically attractive into old age never let go I find that important each day will be like a birthday Mango Tango Sandow neat I keno dekiru why go to Venice as community Mussina innovation whilst Japan on the one hand maintains tradition on the other it is focused on future technology in Japanese laboratories the future is already happening robot master becoming more like humans robots with human features a notion that has not gone down well in the West in Japan could be the future the elderly the technophile Japanese he robots is a great opportunity for elderly care the machines can carry an old woman into the bathroom and wash her lead her to the lift and carry her bags the visions of these engineers seem to have no limits still in its infancy is computer-controlled walking aid for the elderly and infirm this most recent innovation works as follows the brain sends electrical signals to the limbs the Positas reads its information from the nervous system with its sensors on the skin and then relays a desired movement from the brain to engines if the technology is fully developed the disabled could learn to walk again it can realize that so independent independent life some support or so such as nothing care but the important thing is I think independent life support because it's elderly person or other persons lives in in the daily life by themselves I will with technologies at that time nothing care person's number is it can be Livius hope you don't often see strange faces in Japan's major cities immigration to Japan is still very difficult the government is now considering filling its nursing shortage with carriers from other parts of Asia but many failed to get past a language barrier the Japanese are happy amongst themselves just like here in the koto nursing home in Tokyo there is a much more relaxed view on the elderly young life meat sold here 140 elderly people live here the oldest is 101 years old the idea of the extended family forms the basic philosophy of this nursing home the child's visitors learn to deal with the older social behavior and the old forget for a while about their frailties close personal relationships between children and the elderly here are the exception there are still the traditional type of Japanese relations where the individual stands back behind the group oh you can do Danny so yeah particle assassin Alice the children are so honest they do not lie they give me strength to make myself physically strong it is great they make me healthy and I'm very grateful this can't be replaced by anything I was not always so healthy but the atmosphere here has changed me fundamentally the boys always stretched out his hand to me when he sees me coming that's wonderful you win a grip more geological it is this generation that built Japan is the wealthy place that it is in their professional life there was little time opportunity to sit back and relax Japan is not a country of leisure young looks to colony yeah yeah we Japanese are the hardest-working people and rest the least I hope this will gradually change for the better no matter how poor rich someone is in the process communication has suffered at the expense of young people we must learn from European countries like France and England just do that much better than us Dakara Sinatra Jay O'Callahan instead okay tonight they go to an ideal the Japanese have paid a high price for their old age social problems income is shrinking Japan's prosperity is volatile and all values are slowly disappearing Japan has responded to the aging of its society too late as Europe's demographic heads in a similar direction there are valuable lessons to be learned you you

Channel: Journeyman Pictures

Views: 170,894

Rating: 4.8387327 out of 5

Keywords: life expectancy documentary, japanese life expectancy, japan life expectancy, japanese long life, long life in japan, japan long life, longevity documentary, japan longevity, japanese longevity, japanese elderly, japanese old people, japan old people, elderly care in japan, japan life documentary, journeyman japan, journeyman pictures japan, life expectancy, japan life, healthcare, Tokyo, journeyman pictures, ageing, robots, life in japan documentary, old age, Japan, documentary

Id: Fl2PU4E3GsI

Length: 27min 34sec (1654 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 07 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/Bizkitgto]

Work until you're 100...that's depressing...

LIVE until you are 100...Hell yeah!!