Japan Press Weekly

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2025 September 10 - 16 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Create a Japan that ensures human rights for the elderly

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

In Japan, the third Monday of September is a national holiday celebrating Respect for the Aged Day (Keiro no Hi).

Among developed countries, Japan has the highest life-expectancy rates. The current average life expectancy for men is 81.13 years and that for women is 87.13 years. Japan’s aging population has resulted from a decline in the mortality rate mainly due to an advance in medical technology and an improvement in dietary habits, which should be welcomed.

The United Nations advocates for the autonomy and independence of the elderly, and affirms that older people have the right to live as they choose while exercising their rights and receiving adequate social services without being under the control of family members, institutional staff, and administrative officials.

However, successive Liberal Democratic Party governments have used the need to tackle the social security crisis due to the shrinking birthrate and growing aging population as an excuse to force the working-age population to bear heavier financial burdens. In addition, they have imposed “self-help and self-responsibility” and increased the burdens of paying the cost for medical and nursing-care services on the elderly despite cutbacks in these services.

Furthermore, pensions, the primary source of income for the elderly, are meager, which threatens the UN-defined elderly’s right to life. The Welfare Ministry data shows that in 2024, among national pension recipients, 22.55 million people received less than 100,000 yen a month. Of the 22.55, 17.32 were women, meaning that 83.71% of female pension recipients live on less than 100,000 yen a month.

Many single elderly women have to struggle to live due to their low pension income chiefly because women workers are often concentrated in low-paid, non-regular jobs. In the background of this lies a history of gender inequality as shown in the traditional gender role idea that “men work outside and women handle home duties”.

It is vital for the government to introduce a pension system that guarantee a minimum standard of living for everyone.