Japan first the rest will follow | The Population Bust

Approximately 36 million of Japan's 123 million people are aged over 65 — the highest proportion of elderly citizens in the world. It's creating unprecedented societal and economic challenges, which Japan is trying to confront with new ideas about both community and capitalism.

At a public housing complex in Tokyo, where 60% of residents are elderly, an innovative approach to community care is being piloted in order to keep pensioners healthy and out of government-funded care homes. The idea is to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers for care of the elderly, and if successful, could be rolled out to communities all across Japan. In a depopulated village just outside Tokyo, elderly residents struggle as the population and services hollow out, and in Kiryu City, a traditional 'Maid Cafe' is staffed exclusively by women aged over 65, in a bid to bring young and old people together and raise awareness of ageing and loneliness in Japanese society.

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