The Aged of Japan Government Studies the Issue of Longevity By KUMIKO MAKIHARA tage81,KatsunoshinSuzukifindslifelonely and boring in a luxurious retirement home in the breezy seaside resort of Atami, but he considers himself lucky. Finding a comfortable home is an increasing worry among Japan's rapidly growing numbers of elderly. That's because Japan officially claims the world's longest life expectancy - 74 years for men and 80 years for women - and the fastest-growing over-65 population. And the proportion of senior citizens 65 and over in Japan's population is expected to double in the next 30 years. In June, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone's cab- inet voted to review social and economic "systems and customs" currently geared to a 50-year life expectancy and make changes to suit an average 80- year longevity. The builders iust can't keep up with the demand. "Faced with an aging society, the most important agenda for national politics is to provide a system that enables people to find their purpose in life with a sense of security," Nakasone said. The elderly (65 or over) currently represent 10.2 percent of Japan's 120 million people. That is still below some industrialized nations, such as Sweden's 16.8 percent and the United States' 11 percent, but, according to a United Nations study, it will reach 20 percent in about 30 years. At the same time, more and more younger couples are choosing to live on their own rather than in the "extended family" that traditionally has been the answer to care for the aged. Government studies show the percentage of elderly relatives living with children has dropped from just over 80 percent in 1960 to about 65 percent in 1985. "I've seen it and I know it's too great a burden for children when parents live that long," says Makiko Katagiri, 28, who grew up watching her mother take care of both sets of grandparents. She says she hopes the government in the future will provide a variety of housing choices for the Kumiko Makihara wrote this story for Asso- ciated Press Newsfeatures. McKinley Salinas did, however, provide Troop C of the Canfor- nia National Guard Cavalry to act as escort for the presidential party. The local reception committee waited on the pres- ident to escort him on the line of march. (The committee was made up of the city trustees plus T.J. Field, Will Jacks, W.W. James, W.E. Zander, Hugh Trevis, F.M. Hilby, W.E. Parker, H.A. Greene, A.W. Jones J.F. Moore, T.G. Lambert, J.B. Snively, Wil- liam Kay and Alex Underwood.) As the carriages approached the Monterey city limits the fire department band welcomed the presi- dent. The parade route went up Taylor Street to the old plaza then over to Franklin and Alvarado Streets 6 The Herald Weekend Magazine, Sept. 28, 1986. elderly so she won't have to rely on her children the same way. In some areas, this already is happening. The national government is building more than 100 public homes a year in an effort to house some 20,000 elderly people on waiting lists. Still, Japan's 2,700 public housing units accommodate less than 1 percent of its senior citizens. The city government in Tanashi City, a suburb of Tokyo, last year built two apartment complexes exclusively for lease to homeless elderly. "We're a lucky group," says 72-year-old Yoshie Maesato, one of 20 residents of studio apartments in the modest two-story building. "We just spend our time exchanging visits and sipping tea." In Shimane prefecture in southwestern Japan, of- ficials are planning a complex of 150 apartments designed to accommodate wheelchairs and remote control devices for the disabled elderly. Among Japan's 47 prefectures and major cities, Shimane has the highest share of senior citizens with 14.9 percent. Foreseeing a potentially large market in care for the elderly, the Ministry of Health and Welfare last November began promoting "silver service" in -the private sector. "There has been an attitude that care for the elderly should be provided by public services, and where a huge floral arch, 24 feet high and 27 feet across, had been erected. All the businesses along the way had been decorated in red, white and blue and school children had strewn flowers along the path. As the president approached they sang patriotic songs. The president was greeted and formally welcomed by Mayor R. F. Johnson. McKinley responded (more prophetically than he knew) in a speech to the children that, "It will be only a little while until the older of us will have passed away and then must rest on the shoulders of the children here gathered around me the responsibility of the home, the community, the state... " That afternoon McKinley moved to the G.A.R. encampment at Pacific Grove for a reception. The encampment went into secret session with "Comrade MCKinley" for about a half an hour and then the president came out for a public address from a platform by the El Carmelo Hotel (later the Pacific Grove Hotel, torn down and repalced by Holman's, now Ford's Department Store). A planned review was private companies entering the field were seen as exploiting the elderly," Keisuke Tawara, an efficial, said in an interview. "But now there are people looking for high-quality care. There is a limit to how much public service can offer." Tawara's branch already has received almost 300 inquiries this year, mostly from large firms inter- ested in building private homes. Other programs under study include health care services, insurance policies for senility and recreational activities geared to the aged. The Jukeikai corporation invested $44.3 million to transform a tangerine orchard in this year-round resort town southwest of Tokyo into Neo Summit, a sprawling white complex of housing and hospital facilities which opened in May. "Our motto is service from the bottom of our hearts," says manager Kiyoaki Kasugai, who ran a hotel before coming to Neo Summit. "Our residents are guests." There are private rooms, a dining room with a varied menu, and a downstairs bar. The staff is dressed in red vests and green slacks or skirts instead of white nursing uniforms. Soft music and recorded sounds of chirping birds and flowing streams echo in Neo Summit's chandelier-lit lobby. A spiral staircase with an ornate gilt banister leads te an audio room where soft cancelled in favor of the speech. After the program it was rather pointedly stressed that the remainder of the presidential stay in the Monterey area would be devoted to rest. The presidential party left Monterey at 8 on Monday morning, May 13, for Santa Cruz and the big trees, San Jose, San Francisco, Berkeley, the launch- ing of the battleship Ohio (probably at Vallejo), Sacramento and then on to the Pacific Northwest. After Salem, Portland, Tacoma and Seattle the train went through Montana to Salt Lake City and Denver, then Omaha, Chicago and home to Canton, Ohio. Later that year McKinely moved from Canton to Buffalo, N.Y. He made an important speech on Sept. 5 signifying an easement of his tariff policy. The next day, while at a reception at the Temple of Music he was shot in the stomach by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. For a while there seemed hope of recovery but on Sept. 14 "the kindly soul left the tired body." Mark Hanna later remarked to New York's Thomas Platt, "McKinley is dead and now that damned cowboy is president of the United States." m -· -.-- A Iii 4.- ---- , OCR Text: The Aged of Japan Government Studies the Issue of Longevity By KUMIKO MAKIHARA tage81,KatsunoshinSuzukifindslifelonely and boring in a luxurious retirement home in the breezy seaside resort of Atami, but he considers himself lucky. Finding a comfortable home is an increasing worry among Japan's rapidly growing numbers of elderly. That's because Japan officially claims the world's longest life expectancy - 74 years for men and 80 years for women - and the fastest-growing over-65 population. And the proportion of senior citizens 65 and over in Japan's population is expected to double in the next 30 years. In June, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone's cab- inet voted to review social and economic "systems and customs" currently geared to a 50-year life expectancy and make changes to suit an average 80- year longevity. The builders iust can't keep up with the demand. "Faced with an aging society, the most important agenda for national politics is to provide a system that enables people to find their purpose in life with a sense of security," Nakasone said. The elderly (65 or over) currently represent 10.2 percent of Japan's 120 million people. That is still below some industrialized nations, such as Sweden's 16.8 percent and the United States' 11 percent, but, according to a United Nations study, it will reach 20 percent in about 30 years. At the same time, more and more younger couples are choosing to live on their own rather than in the "extended family" that traditionally has been the answer to care for the aged. Government studies show the percentage of elderly relatives living with children has dropped from just over 80 percent in 1960 to about 65 percent in 1985. "I've seen it and I know it's too great a burden for children when parents live that long," says Makiko Katagiri, 28, who grew up watching her mother take care of both sets of grandparents. She says she hopes the government in the future will provide a variety of housing choices for the Kumiko Makihara wrote this story for Asso- ciated Press Newsfeatures. McKinley Salinas did, however, provide Troop C of the Canfor- nia National Guard Cavalry to act as escort for the presidential party. The local reception committee waited on the pres- ident to escort him on the line of march. (The committee was made up of the city trustees plus T.J. Field, Will Jacks, W.W. James, W.E. Zander, Hugh Trevis, F.M. Hilby, W.E. Parker, H.A. Greene, A.W. Jones J.F. Moore, T.G. Lambert, J.B. Snively, Wil- liam Kay and Alex Underwood.) As the carriages approached the Monterey city limits the fire department band welcomed the presi- dent. The parade route went up Taylor Street to the old plaza then over to Franklin and Alvarado Streets 6 The Herald Weekend Magazine, Sept. 28, 1986. elderly so she won't have to rely on her children the same way. In some areas, this already is happening. The national government is building more than 100 public homes a year in an effort to house some 20,000 elderly people on waiting lists. Still, Japan's 2,700 public housing units accommodate less than 1 percent of its senior citizens. The city government in Tanashi City, a suburb of Tokyo, last year built two apartment complexes exclusively for lease to homeless elderly. "We're a lucky group," says 72-year-old Yoshie Maesato, one of 20 residents of studio apartments in the modest two-story building. "We just spend our time exchanging visits and sipping tea." In Shimane prefecture in southwestern Japan, of- ficials are planning a complex of 150 apartments designed to accommodate wheelchairs and remote control devices for the disabled elderly. Among Japan's 47 prefectures and major cities, Shimane has the highest share of senior citizens with 14.9 percent. Foreseeing a potentially large market in care for the elderly, the Ministry of Health and Welfare last November began promoting "silver service" in -the private sector. "There has been an attitude that care for the elderly should be provided by public services, and where a huge floral arch, 24 feet high and 27 feet across, had been erected. All the businesses along the way had been decorated in red, white and blue and school children had strewn flowers along the path. As the president approached they sang patriotic songs. The president was greeted and formally welcomed by Mayor R. F. Johnson. McKinley responded (more prophetically than he knew) in a speech to the children that, "It will be only a little while until the older of us will have passed away and then must rest on the shoulders of the children here gathered around me the responsibility of the home, the community, the state... " That afternoon McKinley moved to the G.A.R. encampment at Pacific Grove for a reception. The encampment went into secret session with "Comrade MCKinley" for about a half an hour and then the president came out for a public address from a platform by the El Carmelo Hotel (later the Pacific Grove Hotel, torn down and repalced by Holman's, now Ford's Department Store). A planned review was private companies entering the field were seen as exploiting the elderly," Keisuke Tawara, an efficial, said in an interview. "But now there are people looking for high-quality care. There is a limit to how much public service can offer." Tawara's branch already has received almost 300 inquiries this year, mostly from large firms inter- ested in building private homes. Other programs under study include health care services, insurance policies for senility and recreational activities geared to the aged. The Jukeikai corporation invested $44.3 million to transform a tangerine orchard in this year-round resort town southwest of Tokyo into Neo Summit, a sprawling white complex of housing and hospital facilities which opened in May. "Our motto is service from the bottom of our hearts," says manager Kiyoaki Kasugai, who ran a hotel before coming to Neo Summit. "Our residents are guests." There are private rooms, a dining room with a varied menu, and a downstairs bar. The staff is dressed in red vests and green slacks or skirts instead of white nursing uniforms. Soft music and recorded sounds of chirping birds and flowing streams echo in Neo Summit's chandelier-lit lobby. A spiral staircase with an ornate gilt banister leads te an audio room where soft cancelled in favor of the speech. After the program it was rather pointedly stressed that the remainder of the presidential stay in the Monterey area would be devoted to rest. The presidential party left Monterey at 8 on Monday morning, May 13, for Santa Cruz and the big trees, San Jose, San Francisco, Berkeley, the launch- ing of the battleship Ohio (probably at Vallejo), Sacramento and then on to the Pacific Northwest. After Salem, Portland, Tacoma and Seattle the train went through Montana to Salt Lake City and Denver, then Omaha, Chicago and home to Canton, Ohio. Later that year McKinely moved from Canton to Buffalo, N.Y. He made an important speech on Sept. 5 signifying an easement of his tariff policy. The next day, while at a reception at the Temple of Music he was shot in the stomach by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. For a while there seemed hope of recovery but on Sept. 14 "the kindly soul left the tired body." Mark Hanna later remarked to New York's Thomas Platt, "McKinley is dead and now that damned cowboy is president of the United States." m -· -.-- A Iii 4.- ---- , Heritage Society of Pacific Grove,Historical Collections,Names of People about town,E through F File names,L through M File Names,McKinley,MCKINLEY_011.pdf,MCKINLEY_011.pdf 1 Page 1, Tags: MCKINLEY_011.PDF, MCKINLEY_011.pdf 1 Page 1