News on Aging

ILC-Netherlands published a report “Generations across the border” (in Dutch) <published in October, 2018>

ILC-NL published a report on the efforts of intergenerational exchanges in 15 countries around the world. Upon creation, ILC - Japan was also asked to contribute, and summarized Japan 's efforts. (It is published in P5 and P24 ~ 7)
The following is a quotation from the forward of the report.

Until the forties of the last century, it was customary in the Netherlands that several generations lived together under the same roof and with one another household. After the Second World War, the nuclear family consisting of two parents and possible offspring and other type of new family forms (people living alone, unmarried cohabitants, single-parent families, LAT relationships, housing groups, the LGBT family and composite families) have emerged. This one changes have influenced social relations between different generations.

Even outside the family it has become less obvious to have more than one to achieve superficial contact between young and old, because the meeting places for social interactions between generations. Young and old life pretty past each other. This reinforces the negative image over and over again.

We are seeing an increasing need for a more inclusive society in which young people and the elderly can play an important role. For more and more organizations apply that create intergenerational contact and opportunities for one inclusive society is decisive for the policy. Think about housing corporations and project developers, municipalities and ministries and well-being elderly care organizations. But it is also important for the elderly and young people themselves and valuable to meet and stay connected.

In the earlier publications Generations houses together (2016) and Generations (net) work Together (2017) we gathered promising Dutch initiatives in which young people and old are of significance to each other. We concluded that they offer each other a lot have and that the mutual imaging can improve when it comes to long-term, equivalent and reciprocal contact. But what about this across the border, what can we learn from initiatives from abroad? In this publication with as title 'Generations across the border' we put inspiring projects from all over world in the sun: from Belgium to Australia and from Denmark to Singapore. We look at how generations live together, live together and experience together.

◆If you would like to see the full text from here＞＞

◆Here is the summary of Japan's efforts

The population of Japan is aging rapidly. The proportion of working age people to Japan’s entire population is also sharply declining. By 2050, it is expected that one in every three persons will be 65 years old or over. Japan has launched a variety of progressive programs including a universal long-term care insurance program, an extension of the mandatory retirement age and formed community based support groups for people with dementia. The for-profit sector has also taken the initiative by generating products and programs catering to seniors.

“From Japan Now” aims at disseminating information concerning aging in Japan to journalists, researchers, students, corporate executives, and policy makers. It focuses on the impact of population aging on ordinary Japanese which has not hitherto received significant attention in the mass media or scholarly publications outside Japan.