Statistics series: Japan's Grand Generation

The third Monday of September is Respect for Elderly Day, a national holiday in Japan.  So today is the day to show our respect to the aged and to celebrate their contributions. 

 

The Nikkei Shimbun carried on its front page some figures relating to the number of elderly in Japan released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. According to the figures, there are 30.74 million Japanese citizens who are aged 65 and above, making up 24.1% of the total population. This is an increase from the previous year, making the number of elderly the highest to date.  The number of elderly who live alone has also increased, making up 16.4% of the above 65 age group. On the other hand, the number of those aged 64 and below has decreased by 1.28 million. So there it is, an indication of the gravity of the aging issue in Japan.

 

I was hoping to read a little more about the Japanese government's response to the rising numbers but did not see it anywhere else in the article nor the rest of the newspaper.  Just for comparison on where Singapore stands against the numbers from Japan, about 6.8 per cent of Singapore's total population are aged 65 years old and above, based on the population statistics as of end June 2011. In absolute numbers, that is about 352 000.  I just cannot imagine that there may one day be millions of elderly people in Singapore too.

 

Vegetables sold at a special discount at Nakamura, a supermarket,
in conjunction with Respect for Elderly Day.

While Respect for Elderly Day did not seem to be given a more reflective treatment at the national level in Japan (the Senkaku issue probably overshadowed everything else), it was definitely given more thought at the local level. I gathered that on this day celebrations were commonly held for the elderly at the community level. The supermarkets also held special sale as part of the holiday and one I went to even put out a special edition of the daifuku or rice cake.

Respect for the Elderly rice cakes on sale at Fresco, another supermarket near my place.

An acquaintance at the place where I volunteer told me that the Japanese elderly didn't like any references to be made to their age. Hence, in recent years, there have been efforts to come up with a more politically correct term such as the "Grand Generation". It appeared that the phrase was often abbreviated to "GG" which sounds like the Japanese slang for "old man" which isn't very nice either.  I guess there is room for further creative thinking to come up with a cool-sounding term to refer to the aged.

On a daily basis, I find myself in the midst of the Grand Generation so even without the numbers, the aging population is evident in the Kyoto streets. It is nice to see them playing sports in the nearby park, volunteering as guides at tourist attractions, or speeding past me on their bicycles uphill with a load of groceries. This is what active aging is about.  But there were times when I was reminded of the seriousness of the aging issue. And on those times, I couldn't help but shudder at the frightening thought of a country with only a minority of young people bearing the burden of an aging society. 

Poster series: Recruitment ads for police officers and fire fighters



I came across two recruitment posters for police officers and fire fighters recently and couldn't help but be attracted by the designs.  

 

The recruitment poster for police officers has a tagline that says, "Youths with great aspirations, come on!" The calligraphic paintings of a female officer on horseback and a male officer on a motorbike look as if they may spring out of the posters into real action right before your eyes.

 

"さすが京都だ!" I thought to myself when I saw it.  Just as one would expect from a city steeped in traditional arts and culture. The use of calligraphy just turned a common poster into a piece of art.

 

An A2-sized poster found on a notice board near a sunflower farm in the town of Yosano, Kyoto.

 

 

The recruitment poster for fire fighters, on the other hand, cleverly plays on the words of a proverb.  "I want to borrow even if it's a cat's paw" (猫の手も借りたい） is a Japanese proverb which is used to describe a busy state a person is in.  The explanation for the proverb is that when you are so busy, you probably wish that even the animals around you can help you. Instead of using the original proverb, the poster uses the words, "A cat's paws can't be borrowed"　（猫の手は借りられない), to emphasise the gravity of the fire fighters' mission.

 

You may ask, why a cat of all animals? The guess (according to this website) is that perhaps the image of a cat chasing after rats gives Japanese the impression that cats are good helpers. 

An A2-sized poster found alongside other random posters pasted on the walls of a subway station.

The noise outside the door



I woke up in the darkness, frozen in fear. Someone was just outside the door and was obviously meddling with it. There was no mistake. With a door made of metal, even the smallest object hitting against it would send a reverberation loud enough to be heard in my tiny apartment.

 

I turned to face the door while still on my bed, not daring to move, and listened keenly.  I had been studying for my upcoming placement exam late into the night and had barely fallen asleep when I heard the noises coming from the door. Could it be someone who was drunk and got to the wrong door? 

 

I looked at the clock, and then relaxed. It was 5.20am. I was expecting him afterall! I jumped out of my bed and rushed to the door. 



A picture of my mail box that is affixed to the door.
I don't receive all my mails in this box. Only important stuff was dropped off here.
 Sometimes, the postman just left the mail in the letter box at the entrance
 to my mansion, if the mail is not deemed important.



I peered into the box affixed to my door meant for the postman to drop off important mail such as my bills. There it was, what I had been waiting excitedly for in the past week - my first Japanese newspaper! Yes, the person who woke me up from my sleep was none other than the Nikkei Shimbun newspaperman! He must have been trying very hard to fit the newspaper into the narrow slot on the exterior of the door!

 

Nikkei Shimbun, 15 Sep 2012 morning edition received at around 5.20am.

Nikkei Shimbun, 15 Sep 2012 evening edition, which I found in my mail box
when I returned from volunteer work in the evening.

Not too long ago, my neighbour told me about a mailer she had received in her letterbox regarding a newspaper company providing a one-week free trial reading of their papers. As I often threw flyers in my letterbox straight into the garbage bin, I missed out on that application for the free newspapers. Following that lesson, I had since made it a point to go through the stack of mailers in my letter box more carefully.

 

Last week, I saw in the mail Nikkei's mailer offering a one-week free trial reading of its newspaper. I sent out my application on Monday, received an acknowledgement from their Osaka office on Friday and got my first newspaper on Saturday.  With the summer vacation now gone and my Japanese deteriorating into a most lamentable state, the newspapers should come in helpful as I work hard to bring myself up to speed again with the language.

 

And if my sensei should ask me if I had followed her advice and started reading more Japanese texts in the summer vacation, I could at least let her know that I am attempting to read newspapers now.

Autumn is near!

Autumn wear is decked out in the departmental stores, signaling that summer is coming to a close.  I have survived the humid summer.

 

How will I fare in autumn? I can't wait to find out!

 

 

 



My landlady's pride

One reason I am in Kyoto and taking this long break from work is to take time off to smell the flowers, as the saying goes.

Coincidentally, my landlady is a person with green fingers and I am in no want of pretty flowers even at my Kyoto home. The patio of the mansion where we live is where my landlady proudly displays her plants.

Around mid-August, I saw a plant prominently placed at the patio which I had never seen before. It caught my attention because of the small, yellow star-shaped flowers flanked by two white petals.

The flowers were in bloom for only a couple of days and I was glad I took a photograph of them.  I wonder what they are called.

A day after I saw the wilted yellow flowers, another new flowering plant was in their place. And I began to realise why I didn't see these plants before. 

My landlady probably kept some of the plants in her house and brought them out only when the flowers started to bloom so that others might admire them too.

"Come look at this flower! It only blooms for one day," she said enthusiastically when she saw me at the patio, and pointed to the huge, crimson flower which looked like a variety of the hibiscus.

"Okusan, you really like flowers, don't you?" I commented. "Yes, I love them!" She said happily and then started to bring me through the various plants at the patio, for the third time in the five months I have lived here.

How nice it will be if I could always be here to listen to Okusan talk about her plants.





The dilemma over the "right of way"

I have come to discover that a conformist culture does not necessarily mean a law-abiding citizenry. 

 

The Kyoto City Government announced its intensified efforts to remove illegally-parked bicycles in May but the announcement didn't seem to have much effect. People continue to blatantly flout the rules by parking exactly where the "No Parking" signs are clearly visible.

 

 

The City Government said in its information release that the illegally-parked bicycles on the streets "disturbed the pedestrians and traffic of emergency vehicles even if left for just a short time".

 

I can understand the rationale for the bicycle removal but I am not sure if I support it, especially when parking space for bicycles is so scarce.  And even if paid parking lots are available, I don't think I am prepared to pay a few dollars just to park a bicycle.

 

So when I do park on the streets, I try to ensure that I don't obstruct the traffic in anyway and then pray for good luck that when I return, my bicycle will still be waiting for me.

 



Getting a taste from home at Jupiter

Jupiter is an import food shop located in the underground Porta Mall at Kyoto Station, near the fast food restaurant, Lotteria.  I learnt about it from a classmate who has now returned to his university in Australia. He knew that I was desperately looking for durians some months ago when the fruit was in season in Malaysia around June and July.    A Singapore favourite, the "King of Fruit" is imported in large quantities from Malaysia to Singapore every year during that period.

 

 

As I had a craving for the fruit then, I made it my special assignment to hunt for it in Kyoto.  I wasn't successful of course. Durians are a rarity in Kyoto. My Indonesian neighbour pointed me to AEON Mall near Kyoto Station but I didn't see any by the time I went there. So when my classmate told me that Jupiter was selling durian chips, I thought, well, I could settle for the chips instead.



Durian chips from Thailand (second row) spotted at Jupiter.

I paid 197 Yen for the bigger pack and 147 Yen for the smaller pack and happily brought them to class to share with my classmates, some of whom had never heard of or seen a durian before. It turned out that the chips were made of durians from Thailand and were specially treated to remove the strong aroma of the fruit to suit the Japanese tastebud. The feedback from my classmates was that they tasted not much different from potato chips.  Disappointing! The chips did not live up to the reputation of the "King of Fruit" at all!  I felt like I had misrepresented the "King" by sharing the chips.





 

Well, although my craving for durians was not satisfied with the durian chips, Jupiter sells a variety of other foodstuff from different parts of the world. So for an international student like me craving for a taste from home, it is still a good place to look if one does not mind paying abit more. 

 

That is not to say that Jupiter is the only solution though. The other day, I found the cocoa mix that I was craving for in a local Japanese supermarket and apparently, there is a local factory producing the product here.  So we just need to be alert and keep a lookout!