An Acquaintance with An Aging Society

Abstract

Low birth rates and higher life expectancy have been ravaging Japanese society. This article summarizes some of the latest medical knowledge and assistive activities, with a nod toward one nonprofit organization’s efforts to deliver better home healthcare to the elderly through housing and technologies, in the world’s first super-aging society. The response to the transforming society requires a combination of familiar customs and new technologies that create a favorable environment for mobility and continuous learning that are key to elderly health. As other countries will face similar issues, further international interdisciplinary knowledge-building will be necessary to face the challenges of super-aging societies.

Keywords

• assistive technologies
• physical environment/space
• community care
• rural aging
• urban aging