Shortly after Japan was struck by a record-breaking earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, dramatic photographs of the devastation began making their way around the world.
One particularly memorable image showed an elderly man being carried out of the rubble by a uniformed member of the Japanese Self-Defense Force. The photo was emblematic of one of the most famous aspects of traditional Japanese culture: its reverence for its oldest citizens.
In Japan, where the family has long been considered the cornerstone of society, the elderly have been esteemed for their wisdom. The young were instructed to look up to their grandparents, who would pass on valuable life lessons to the younger generation. In fact, every September 15, Japan celebrates “Respect for the Aged Day.”
However, changing demographics are altering the relationship between the young and the old. In Canada, we are undergoing a similar demographic shift; however, the situation in Japan is particularly serious, with ramifications to that nation’s entire culture and economy.
Traditionally, elderly care was undertaken by daughters-in-law, with aging parents living with their children and grandchildren. Retirement homes and homes for the aged are a relatively new phenomenon, and spaces are limited. The result was a 21st century phenomenon called “kodokushi,” or “lonely deaths,” as more elderly people live (and die) alone and isolated.
“There is a kind of myth that older people in Japan are living in three-generational families, but that’s not so anymore,” one gerontologist told Time magazine in 2010.
The problem is that Japan’s birthrate has declined sharply in recent decades: the standard population “replacement rate” is 2.1 children per woman; in Japan, that birthrate has fallen to 1.4. Seniors are living longer than ever before, but as younger women enter the workforce in record numbers, they are putting off marrying and having children indefinitely. They are also less likely to embrace their traditional care giving role.
It’s difficult for any culture to experience such a dramatic change in family roles and responsibilities. Even though the demographic shift is inevitable in all cultures, finding the most effective and efficient remedies is very complex. More and more people are looking to families to provide their senior members with the necessities of life.
The conversations that families need to have in order to plan for the dignified care of their aging family members are difficult. Family members need to navigate their way through differences in perspective and opinion, and suppressed emotions about past family conflicts might surface.
However, these are conversations are easier to have before a crisis. It is in the family’s best interests to involve a neutral third party, such as an elder mediator, to help facilitate planning and decision-making.
For now, and probably for a long time to come, conversation about family life in Japan will have to focus on the grief of loss and devastation. Recent events may have altered the country’s landscape forever. Only time will tell what impact they will have on Japan’s traditional culture, as it evolves in the face of shifting demographics.