Age In Japan Research Articles

Measuring the Impact of Population Aging on Tax Revenue: Evidence from Japan and Korea

This paper assesses empirically the tax implications of population aging in Japan and Korea. We achieve the research objectives by taking two approaches: (1) a vector autoregression (VAR) analysis; and (2) an estimated dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) framework. Based on data from 1973 to 2015, the VAR results for both countries reveal that an aging shock decreases GDP, hours, consumption, and investment. As the tax bases fall, so do tax revenues. Conditioned on estimated DSGE models, the second approach is to characterize Laffer curves at two steady states: the current (as of 2015) and aged (as of 2060) states. We find that the adverse effect of population aging on tax revenues is more serious for Korea than for Japan. Even in the aged state, Japan has room to generate tax revenues comparable to the current state, whereas combinations of tax rates satisfying this property do not exist for Korea.

Demographics and the Natural Rate of Interest in Japan

Japan's aging and shrinking population could lower the natural rate of interest and, together with low inflation expectations, challenge the Bank of Japan's efforts to reflate the economy. This paper uses a semi-structural model to estimate the impact of demographics on the natural rate in Japan. We find that demographic change has a significantly negative impact on the natural rate by lowering trend potential growth. We also find that the negative impact has been increasing over time amid stronger demographic headwinds. These findings highlight the importance of boosting potential growth to offset the negative demographic impact and lift the natural rate in Japan.

A Safety Review of Medical Device Robots in JAPAN

In Japan, the robot evolution in the medical field has been remarkable, robots now often perform actions that are difficult for humans including assisting with elderly care and conducting medical operations that require specific techniques, and Japanese medical robot technology is among the best in the world. As the workforce population decreases in Japan's ageing society, the demand for robots will be ever-increasing, the use of robots will reduce the increasing medical costs. Unfortunately, there has been insufficient research by Japanese law researchers on medical robots. This paper examines whether the law in Japan is a barrier to the development of robot technology. In Japan, medical treatments that utilise robots are promoted by the government and by private organisations, including the Center of Assistive Robotics and Rehabilitation for Longevity and Good Health and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, which are similar to the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. In Europe, the SPARC robot project promotes the private development of robots. One side effect of robot technology is the challenge they present within legal systems because laws commonly lag behind the rapid technological developments. To address this, we may need to modify existing interpretations by the executive branch and revise statues in parliament; otherwise, judges must interpret the meaning of statutes that competing parties dispute. This paper focuses on the legal issues regarding medical robots, including how the government approves the use of medical devices for older people, and proposes a legal framework that encourages the safe implementation of robots in the medical field.

Clinical guidelines for dental cone-beam computed tomography.

Dental cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) received regulatory approval in Japan in 2000 and has been widely used since being approved for coverage by the National Health Insurance system in 2012. This imaging technique allows dental practitioners to observe and diagnose lesions in the dental hard tissue in three dimensions (3D). When performing routine radiography, the examination must be justified, and optimal protection should be provided according to the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principles laid down by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Dental CBCT should be performed in such a way that the radiation exposure is minimized and the benefits to the patient are maximized. There is a growing demand for widespread access to cutting-edge health care through Japan's universal health insurance system. However, at the same time, people want our limited human, material, and financial resources to be used efficiently while providing safe health care at the least possible cost to society. Japan's aging population is expected to reach a peak in 2025, when most of the baby boomer generation will be aged 75years or older. Comprehensive health care networks are needed to overcome these challenges. Against this background, we hope that this text will contribute to the nation's oral health by encouraging efficient use of dental CBCT.

Research and Analysis of Urban Housing Remodeling for the Elderly under the Endowment Model of Japan

With the deepening of Japan's aging and miniaturizing of family structure, coupled with Japan's economic decline, unreasonableness and abnormal supply brought by the old pension system and ancillary equipment will bring a series of problems. Social endow-ment is the trend of the times. In this paper, the author expounds the problems encountered in the reconstruc-tion of urban housing under the old-age model in Japan, and provides a comprehensive ser-vice to meet the needs of the elderly and be in line with their requirements and life style in the light of the hous- ing, supporting space, public access, internal and external environment and public facilities. And the author creates economic and practical, comfortable and convenient, safe and healthy supporting residential facilities in line with living habits of the local elderly, and on this basis, the use of the Internet of things can better support the old-age housing and promote the rapid development of old-age reform.

Aging in Japan and the Role of Kominkan

Aging in Japan and the Role of Kominkan

The impact of population ageing on the social security expenditure and economic growth in Japan.

The author considers the impact of demographic aging in Japan on the social security system and on economic growth. It is argued that "First of all, as the cost of social security (including social services) increases remarkably at the earlier stage of ageing, the disposable (after tax) income and private consumption of the present labour force generation tend to increase at a lower growth rate than that of the GNP....Secondly if pension systems are based on terminal funding schemes, the ageing of the population increases savings (net increase of the amount of the pension funds) at the earlier stage of the ageing of the population. Thirdly, there is a time lag between the increase of social security benefits and the decrease in the personal savings ratio. The high ratio of savings and the shortage of aggregate demand as well as the high pressure for export in...recent Japan can partly be attributed to the above factors." Possible future economic scenarios as demographic ageing in Japan proceeds are described, and policies to avert anticipated problems are outlined. (SUMMARY IN JPN)

The age at onset of rheumatoid arthritis is increasing in Japan: a nationwide database study.

To determine whether the age at onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has increased in Japan using a nationwide database (National Database of Rheumatic Diseases by iR-net in Japan, NinJa). We analyzed the data of RA patients who had been diagnosed with early RA (disease duration < 2 years) and newly registered in 2003, 2008 or 2013. The numbers of patients who developed RA in 2002-2003, 2007-2008, and 2012-2013 were 536, 812 and 1864, respectively. The mean age at RA onset increased significantly from 55.8 years in 2002-2003 and 57.0 years in 2007-2008 to 59.9 years in 2012-2013. The peak age shifted from the 50-59 years age group in 2002-2003 to the 60-69 years age group in 2012-2013. There was no apparent difference in the age at RA onset between male and female RA patients. Notably, in the period 2002-2003, the prevalence of RA was markedly higher in the age group of 50-59 years, which included the first 'baby boomers', than in the age groups of 30-39 and 40-49 years, even with consideration of the variations in the age composition of the general population. We have demonstrated that the age at RA onset in Japan has increased significantly over the last decade. This can be attributed to Japan's aging population. In addition, the high prevalence of RA among the first baby boomers suggests that environmental factors might also have contributed to the increase in age at RA onset in Japan.

一極集中型コンパクトシティ政策の有効性に関するアクセシビリティのシミュレーション分析

Recently, governments of some cities have adopted urban policies, based on a compact city concept to facilitate accessibility, mainly for mobility-impaired people among Japan's ageing society. The government of Aomori city has planned a popular compact city model, or a centralized urban physical structure, by controlling the urbanized area of the Mid-city zone (population-incentive zone) in the city master plan established in 1999. The effects of measures for providing accessibility to the central railway station as a representative facility of the city center are analyzed, and the implications for urban policy based on a centralized compact city design in Aomori city are investigated. Accessibility, as represented by time-distance to the central station, is measured based on a road network analysis and timetables of train and bus services. As a result, it is observed at a level where most of the population can reach the facility. The simulations are based on the following measures: 1) supporting migration inside of the Mid-city from the Outer-city forming the suburbs; and 2) improving the frequency of bus transportation in the Toyama housing district, a case-study area in the suburbs. The major findings are as follows. 1) Accessibility to the central station by train is improved with migration and the effects are greater for elderly people. It seems to be useful to strengthen these effects if migration is only into the Inner-city. Although variations in migration measures are found under several conditions, accessibility is finally improved to almost the same level. Therefore, it is important to continue migration support measures, even if the pace is slow. 2) Accessibility to the central station by bus from the Toyama housing district is improved substantially under a situation where the frequency of bus services is increased until five-fold. The effect is also improved for elderly people. Some suburban cores such as large housing districts should be set or maintained at least the short-term aims of urban policy, because the population is already distributed in the suburbs and the level of functions of daily life should be maintained there. Lastly, it is important that the city master plan refers to the phasing of centralization from the suburbs, especially, about methods and times. If it is considered that the suburban cores continue independently in the process of compact city policy, the government of the city should include the cores in the urban structure and the city master plan should be revised.

The Impact of Demographics on Productivity and Inflation in Japan

Is Japan's aging and, more recently, declining population hampering growth and reflation efforts? Exploiting demographic and economic variation in prefectural data between 1990 and 2007, we find that aging of the working age population has had a significant negative impact on total factor productivity. Moreover, prefectures that aged at a faster pace experienced lower overall inflation, while prefectures with higher population growth experienced higher inflation. The results give strong support to the notion that demographic headwinds can have a non-trivial impact on total factor productivity and deflationary pressures.

The Way of the Warrior in Interwar Japan

In the 1860s, Japan was pulled out of its centuries-long isolation and forced to rapidly adapt to the industrialized world. The state quickly made friends with the more established Western powers and was able to impress them with its surprising miliary victories over China in 1895, Russia in 1905, and Germany in 1919. However, the goodwill that Japan had garnered with the West evaporated after the First World War. How could a nation so adept at modern militarism and economics alienate every friend it had in the span of 25 years? The answer stems from Japan's long feudal age; in the twentieth century, Japan was unable to reconcile feudal concepts of Bushidō and Shinto with emerging Wilsonian idealism, leading to a fundamental disconnect that drove the Japanese down the path to confrontation with the nations that had ushered it into the modern era.

Large displacement haptic stimulus actuator using piezoelectric pump for wearable devices.

Recently, given Japan's aging society background, wearable healthcare devices have increasingly attracted attention. Many devices have been developed, but most devices have only a sensing function. To expand the application area of wearable healthcare devices, an interactive communication function with the human body is required using an actuator. For example, a device must be useful for medication assistance, predictive alerts of a disease such as arrhythmia, and exercise. In this work, a haptic stimulus actuator using a piezoelectric pump is proposed to realize a large displacement in wearable devices. The proposed actuator drives tactile sensation of the human body. The measurement results obtained using a sensory examination demonstrate that the proposed actuator can generate sufficient stimuli even if adhered to the chest, which has fewer tactile receptors than either the fingertip or wrist.

人工林の高齢級化に伴う伐出システムの観点からみた路網整備の方向性と課題

人工林の高齢級化に伴う路網整備の方向性と課題を，適用されるべき伐出システム，地形からの制約，および近年の動向を考慮して検討した。一つの方向性は，中傾斜地までの地形で現在スイングヤーダを用いる伐出システムが適用されている場合に，集材対象木の大径化に対応するため高出力で搬送が高速な欧州型のタワーヤーダを用いる伐出システムに移行するものである。高知県香美地域で実際の事例がみられるが，路網は現状より高規格化する必要がある。もう一つの方向性は急傾斜地までの地形において路網を低規格化することで高密化を可能にし，機械は小型になるが集材距離の短縮化で対応するもので，近畿・四国地区をはじめ各地で事例がみられる。いずれの場合も，伐出が事業として成立するためにはシステムへの投資と得られる伐出生産性のバランスがとれていることが必要である。二つの方向性について検証した結果，タワーヤーダシステムへの移行は経費面で成功しているとみられるものの機械の国産化など本体の低価格化が今後重要であること，小規模機械の高密路網化では手のかかった施業による材の高付加価値化や自伐的経営などが必要であることが示唆された。

Blood Donor Deferral among Students in Northern Japan: Challenges Ahead

Background: As Japan's aging society needs more blood, young students comprise a progressively smaller portion of the donor pool. To ensure a safe and sustainable blood supply, it is crucial to select suitable donors. This study aims to evaluate donor deferral rates, causes of deferral, and characteristics of deferred Japanese students. Methods: Computerized records of blood centers in northern Japan (Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures) from March 2010 through March 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Among 231,361 individuals visiting during the 12-month period, 24,778 were students. Of these, 19,193 (77%) attempted donation, and 5,585 (23%) were deferred. Low hemoglobin, questionnaire-based interview decisions, and medication were the main reasons for temporary deferral. Age, sex, and blood center location were associated with low hemoglobin; donation history and blood center location were associated with medication-based deferral. The odds ratio among female students deferred for low hemoglobin was 35.48 with a 95% CI of 27.74-45.38. Conclusions: These results suggest that continued efforts are needed to motivate deferred potential donors to return, to prevent low hemoglobin especially among females, and to review medical interview decisions, while paying close attention to regional differences.

Is Japan's Population Aging Deflationary?

Is Japan's Population Aging Deflationary?

Effect of branched-chain amino acid-enriched nutritional supplementation on interferon therapy in Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: a retrospective study

BackgroundThe aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of nutritional supplementation with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) with zinc component (Aminofeel®) on adherence to and outcome of therapy in patients treated with interferon (IFN) for chronic hepatitis C and cirrhosis and to determine whether to recommend the supplement.MethodsIn this retrospective study, 51 patients who received IFN therapy were investigated among 203 consecutive patients who visited our hospital and were advised regarding the potential benefit of taking Aminofeel®. Each patient was free to choose whether to purchase and take Aminofeel®.ResultsTwenty four patients (group 1-A) took Aminofeel® during standard IFN therapy and 13 (group 1-B) did not. Low-dose, long-term IFN (maintenance) therapy, mainly peglated (Peg)-IFN alpha 2a, was administered to 14 patients who were difficult to treat, because of no effect or harmful side effects with standard IFN therapy, and who had advanced liver fibrosis. Among the 14, 11 patients (group 2-A) took Aminofeel® and 3 (group 2-B) did not. The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher (P=0.04) in group 1-A than in group 1-B. The rate of adherence to IFN therapy was higher in group 1-A (83.3%) than in group 1-B (53.8%, P=0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the rates of sustained virological response (SVR) to IFN therapy. According to multivariate analysis, two factors, SVR and intake of Aminofeel®, were associated with successful adherence to IFN therapy. The adjusted odds ratios for these two factors were 13.25 and 12.59, respectively, and each was statistically significant. The SVR rate of maintenance IFN therapy was in 18.2% group 2-A and 0% in group 2-B.ConclusionOur data show that BCAA intake is useful for adherence to and effect of IFN therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C. Nutritional supplementation with BCAA seems to be useful for HCV-infected patients receiving IFN therapy because it is impossible to introduce standard treatment for all patients among Japan's aging population.

Nature's embrace: Japan's aging urbanites and new death rites – By Satsuki Kawano

Nature's embrace: Japan's aging urbanites and new death rites – By Satsuki Kawano

The Use of Feed-forward and Feedback Learning in Firm-University Knowledge Development: The Case of Japan

The problem Japanese universities face is exactly the same as that of German universities: no international recognition in world rankings of universities despite their high levels of postwar economic and technological developments. This was indeed one reason why world-class Japanese firms, such as Toyota and Sony, have avoided working closely with Japanese universities for R&D partnership and new technology commercialization. To resolve this problem, the Japanese government has continuously implemented aggressive policies of the internationalization, privatization, liberalization, and privatization of universities since the onset of the economic recession in 1989 in order to revitalize the Japanese economy through radical innovation projects between universities and firms. National projects of developing medical robots for Japan's ageing society are some of the ambitious examples that emphasize feed-forward learning in innovation. However, this paper argues that none of these programs of fostering university-firm alliances toward feed-forward learning has been successful in promoting the world ranking of Japanese universities, although they showed potentials of reinforcing their conventional strength of introducing kaizen through feedback learning of tacit knowledge. It is therefore argued in this paper that Japanese universities and firms should focus on feedback learning as a way to motivate firm-university R&D alliances.

Nature's Embrace: Japan's Aging Urbanites and New Death Rites – By Satsuki Kawano

Nature's Embrace: Japan's Aging Urbanites and New Death Rites – By Satsuki Kawano

Parkscapes: green spaces in modern Japan

Japan today protects one-seventh of its land surface in parks, which are visited by well over a billion people each year. Parkscapes analyzes the origins, development, and distinctive features of these public spaces. Green zones were created by the government beginning in the late nineteenth century for state purposes but eventually evolved into sites of negotiation between bureaucrats and ordinary citizens who use them for demonstrations, riots, and shelters, as well as recreation. Thomas Havens shows how revolutionary officials in the 1870s seized private properties and converted them into public parks for educating and managing citizens in the new emperor-sanctioned state. Rebuilding Tokyo and Yokohama after the earthquake and fires of 1923 spurred the spread of urban parklands both in the capital and other cities. According to Havens, the growth of suburbs, the national mobilization of World War II, and the post-1945 American occupation helped speed the creation of more urban parks, setting the stage for vast increases in public green spaces during Japan's golden age of affluence from the 1960s through the 1980s. Since the 1990s the Japanese public has embraced a heightened ecological consciousness and become deeply involved in the design and management of both city and natural parks--realms once monopolized by government bureaucrats. As in other prosperous countries, public-private partnerships have increasingly become the norm in operating parks for public benefit, yet the heavy hand of officialdom is still felt throughout Japan's open lands. Based on extensive research in government documents, travel records, and accounts by frequent park visitors, Parkscapes is the first book in any language to examine the history of both Japan's urban and national parks. As an account of how Japan's experience of spatial modernity challenges current thinking about protection and use of the nonhuman environment globally, the book will appeal widely to readers of spatial and environmental history as well as those interested in modern Japan and its many inviting green spaces.