Further notes on Fukushima and aging

Altruism, vitality and energy are generally thought to be associated with youth. We are bombarded with a constant stream of information to reinforce this concept. A rise in diseases associated with aging and the search for solutions to address social and medical issues associated with a growing geriatric population may have reinforced the eternal quest for youth. For every Clint Eastwood and Betty White there are untold numbers of caregivers wandering how they could provide for older relatives.  Japan represents a microcosm in the sense that is experiencing the most rapid rate of population aging in the world.   Japan represents a microcosm in the sense that is experiencing the most rapid rate of population aging in the world. More than 7% of the Japanese population will be 80 years and older by 2020 (compared with 4.0% in the USA). By 2050, the country is expected to have one million centenarians and about 40% of the population is anticipated to be at least 65 years of age and older.

Prof.Kent Anderson considered the impact of the natural disasters in Japan (the 9.0 earthquake, 10 meter tsunami and nuclear crisis that occurred on 11 March 2011) on older people. The elderly and infirm, living in rural areas in the path of the tsunami, were mostly not able to rely on the disaster preparedness program or individual mobility. While the country continues to recover from these disasters, the demographic truth of a shrinking workforce, low birth rates and an elderly population remain hot social security reform topics.   A recent gaffe (later said to be a misinterpretation) by the 72-year old Japanese deputy prime minister, Taro Aso,  implied that the elderly should be allowed to “hurry up and die” to reduce the burden on a country tasked to pay for their medical expenses.

The  SkilledVeteran Corps, a group of 250 able-bodied seniors led by Yasuteru Yamada, rebutted the idea that old equals burdensome by volunteering to clean up the radiation-contaminated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan (Robots have thus far been unable to decontaminate the plant). Confucius, who died at the approximate age of 72, could not have foreseen the complexities of aging in the modern era when he said that “old age is a good and pleasant thing.” However, one could imagine him approving of these courageous citizens and tipping his hat to a 104-year-old Masters world record-holder who died in the tsunami.