Event Report: Looking Back and Looking Forward: A Conversation on Japan and Canada’s Ageing Societies

On March 8th, 2021, the Centre for the Study of Global Japan, in partnership with the Office of the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto, welcomed Hiroko Akiyama, Margarita Estevez-Abe, Michelle Silver, and Ito Peng (moderator), to a seminar and discussion session on “Looking Back and Looking Forward: A Conversation on Japan and Canada’s Ageing Societies”.

The session featured a presentation by Professor Akiyama on her research on Japan’s ageing society. This was followed by Professor Silver and Professor Estevez-Abe’s discussions comparing ageing societies in Japan in comparative perspectives. The presentation was moderated by Professor Peng. Following opening remarks by Sasayama Takuya (Consul-General of Japan in Toronto) and Phillip Lipscy (Director, Centre for the Study of Global Japan), Ito Peng introduced the panel and noted the importance of ageing societies as a social and policy issue not only in Japan but also in many other countries, including Canada.

Starting with a brief overview of the global ageing population phenomenon, Professor Akiyama presented her research on redesigning communities for ageing societies. The speaker noted that she approached the issue of an ageing society through an action research framework – a participatory research method in collaboration with most stakeholders – in order to produce the most effective guidelines for best practices. Next, Akiyama discussed pilot projects that she helped launch in communities near Tokyo in an effort to redesign the communities to better meet the needs of the senior society. These projects included the expansion of job opportunities for seniors, using technological devices to improve physical and cognitive abilities, promoting the integrated home-based care system, and alternative means of transportation for seniors. Akiyama noted that a key indicator of progress in meeting the needs of seniors in those communities was the increase in smiles among senior citizens, which indicates improvement in psychological health.

Following the presentation, panelists Michelle Silver and Margarita Estevez-Abe discussed the implications of Akiyama’s research. Silver began with a discussion on the implications of the term “ageing” and “retirement” and the different cultural attitudes towards them globally. She discussed how as we think about aging society, we need to rethink about the idea of ageing and consider intergenerational tensions and collaborations. Finally, she noted how the current pandemic might have opened an opportunity for the reconceptualization of the ageing issue.

Next, Estevez-Abe noted the implications of the extremely rapid pace of demographic aging in Japan. Comparatively speaking, whereas the ageing process in European countries such as France occurred over the course of 100 years, Japan’s trajectory has been much shorter at around 30 years. Taking this into consideration, she noted that Japan has been relatively effective in the areas of health and long-term care. However, she argued that we need to rethink the structure of the employment system and how it might create barriers to opportunities for the aging society. Finally, both Silver and Estevez-Abe suggested immigration as a potential tool for addressing aging society in Japan.

The presentations concluded with a lively Q&A session moderated by Ito Peng. During the session, the panelists addressed various questions surrounding issues about Japan’s ageing society including immigration in Japan, the involvement of robots in long-term care facilities, and how the pension system could change with the implementation of senior compatible societies.

The Centre would like to thank Hiroko Akiyama for delivering an insightful presentation, Margarita Estevez-Abe and Michelle Silver for their thought-provoking discussions, Ito Peng for moderating, and the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto for the opportunity to host this event. We would also like to thank the virtual audience members from all over the globe for their engaged participation.

To view a full video of the presentation, CLICK HERE.

About the Presenter:

• Hiroko Akiyama - Visiting Professor, Institute of Gerontology and Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo and Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo

About the Panelists:

• Margarita Estevez-Abe - Associate Professor, Political Science, Syracuse University
• Michelle Silver - Acting Chair, Department of Health and Society and Associate Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough
• Ito Peng - Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Social Policy and Director, Centre for Global Social Policy, Department of Sociology, and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto (Moderator)