Dealing With Our Senior Population – Part 1: Cultural Contrasts
Contributed by Doug Ferguson
Back in the early 1970’s I spent two years living in Japan with my young family on an engineering assignment for my employer. It was the experience of a lifetime and, while I don’t consider myself an expert on Japan, I did come away with some impressions that have lasted a lifetime.
One of these is how different the cultural approach to dealing with their aged population was, and still is, to ours here in America. More than sixty years later, as I am now an octogenarian and have been considered an American senior citizen for over two decades with some associated disabilities, what do I think now?
First some important information on aging in Japan. Currently they have the highest percentage of citizens over 65 in the world with roughly a third of their population in that category. A large factor there is the low birthrate of 1.3%, due to their increasingly more educated young professionals moving to the larger cities and delaying or not having families, similar to what we are seeing here in the U.S.
For various reasons they also have very little immigration into the country, which, by the way, is what is barely keeping our U.S. birthrate up to a sustainable 2.2% level. They are very concerned with this combination problem of birthrate vs. aging and are investigating policies to change the trend. Considering the complex cultural roots involved it’s not an issue to be discussed here.
However, regarding how seniors are regarded in Japan there is no question that there is a major cultural difference between the two countries. Going back for centuries, their religions of Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism have all stressed the wisdom found in their ancestor’s and elderly’s lives that is handed down to the next generation. This was apparent in the immense respect paid to seniors we observed when we lived there and is still a strong part of their culture.
This contrast is especially striking when you witness how the young Japanese treat their elders. Younger generations are expected to show deference to their elders by speaking politely, addressing them formally (using honorifics such as -san or -sama),
The honorific term for anyone who is a teacher or professor is “Sensei”, a term in one form or another shared in Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China. All these cultures tend to honor their seniors, but in Japan the word has special meaning. It’s roots literally mean “person born before another”. It implies the life experience advantage of age and is used either before or after a person’s name and is applied to teachers, persons of authority, or someone who has mastered a skill or profession.
Regardless of whether or not an elder person is labeled “Sensei”, all seniors are treated with utmost respect and consideration.
Most Japanese seniors have been accustomed and obligated to being busy and productive their whole lives and want to continue that in their older years. In general, their society tends to find meaningful jobs, tasks, or mentor roles for their elderly if at all possible, noting their long experiences in life with its resulting wisdom. Organizations like Silver Jinzai that post-retirement jobs for seniors help to both satisfy such personal desires as well as help a nation-wide labor shortage so they are not taking jobs away from younger people.
There are many other efforts by both governmental and private organizations to both honor and take advantage of senior’s wisdom and knowledge. Instead of early retirement, some companies offer jobs with both lower stress and lower salaries now that family needs are less.
There is also a strong emphasis on respecting one’s elders based on traditional values such as filial piety (which means showing love and devotion towards one’s parents) and ‘giri’ (which means “duty”). These values have been passed down through generations and remain important parts of modern-day Japanese culture today. Young people are encouraged to show proper respect towards their elders no matter what situation they find themselves in.
The point is that despite the demographic problems of increasing elder population, their culture continues to put a priority on the value of seniors in their society.
For contrast, next month in Part 2 we will discuss my personal observations and experiences as an “American” senior!