Elderly Population In Japan Research Articles

Emotional labor, conflicting caregiving responsibilities and resilience among foreign female caregivers in Japan: A photovoice study

AbstractPrompted by Japan's aging population and the growing demand for migrant female caregivers, this study employs a participatory action research method—photovoice (N = 11) and interviews (N = 9) to investigate the emotional labor, conflicting caregiving responsibilities, and resilience among foreign female caregivers in Japan. A total of 47 photographs and nine interviews were gathered, revealing three main themes with several sub‐themes, such as discrimination, loneliness, ergonomic challenges, and emotional burden. The findings shed light on the stigmatization faced by foreign female caregivers in Japan, who are often perceived as inadequately qualified for their roles. It particularly emphasizes the difficulties they face in balancing their caregiving duties in Japan with the inability to care for their own families back home. Additionally, Japan's stringent immigration policies, patriarchal social structure and the experiences of discrimination further complicate their situation. We recommend that policies and programs focus on improving working conditions (such as reducing workload and increasing wages), supporting family unity, and providing greater flexibility for social integration among migrant caregivers.

Trends in drug treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in Japan based on the National Database Open Data.

This study examined prescription trends for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) drug therapy in Japan over the past decade, focusing on drugs rated as grade A according to Japanese clinical guidelines. Using the National Database Open Data, this study analyzed prescription data from the fiscal years of 2014 to 2021, tracking α1-blockers, 5α-reductase inhibitors, and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. We adjusted for demographics and calculated medication costs to determine prescribing patterns and changes in drug utilization. Prescriptions for α1-blockers increased from 9898 per 1000 males in 2014 to 12 613 in 2021. Prescriptions for 5α-reductase inhibitors rose from 1441 per 1000 males in 2014 to 2310 in 2021. Tadalafil prescriptions saw a significant increase, from 900 in 2015 to 2520 in 2021. Despite these increases, the overall market size for BPH drugs decreased from 664 million dollars in 2014 to 279 million dollars in 2021, indicating a shift toward generic medications driven by healthcare policies. Although BPH medication prescriptions are increasing, driven by Japan's aging population and clinical guidelines, market dynamics are shifting owing to generic and government price adjustments. This analysis underscores the changing BPH treatment landscape in Japan, highlighting the importance of continuous evaluation of treatment efficacy and cost-effectiveness in evolving healthcare policies and demographics.

Population Aging in Japan: Stylized Facts, Causes, and Consequences

Population Aging in Japan: Stylized Facts, Causes, and Consequences

Health care expenditure, economic growth, and population ageing in Japan: empirical evidence using the nonlinear ARDL approach

ABSTRACT In Japan, health care expenditure (HCE) has increased with the rapid ageing of the population. It raises concerns on how the public health care insurance system should be sustained in the future, since the dependence on public burdens is growing under the government’s difficult financial conditions. This study investigates the cointegration relationship between HCE, GDP, and the population ageing rate (AGE) in Japan for the period 1960–2019 by using the nonlinear ARDL approach. The results revealed that per capita HCE may increase more significantly during an economic downturn than during an economic improvement in the long-run. Moreover, an increase in AGE has a positive effect on per capita HCE. These findings show the need to achieve stable economic growth and seriously address the issue of ageing for policymakers in Japan.

Aging population in Japan: Immediate shake-up in healthcare required.

Aging population in Japan: Immediate shake-up in healthcare required.

Association between Auditory Impairment and the Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease: The LIFE Study

AbstractBackgroundThe prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has seen an upward trend due to the demographic shift towards an aging population in Japan. The possible association between auditory impairment and the onset of AD has been previously proposed, however, it remains a subject of ongoing discussion. This study aimed to investigate this association using data from 13 municipalities in Japan.MethodFrom the LIFE Study, 13 municipalities that possessed both long‐term care certification questionnaire and medical claims data were identified as eligible for inclusion. The study population consisted of individuals who had newly applied for long‐term care certification between April 2013 and October 2021. The study population consisted of individuals who displayed no cognitive impairment at the time of application and had not been diagnosed with dementia within the preceding six months, inclusive of the month of application. The month succeeding the application was established as the index month, and the interval from this month to the onset of AD (ICD‐10 codes F00 or G30) was assessed. The Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to examine the risk of AD onset in relation to auditory status as reported on the long‐term care certification questionnaire.ResultThe study cohort consisted of 33,067 participants, with a mean follow‐up duration of 21.0 months. At the index month, 60.2% of the patients were female, and the mean age was 79.5 years. In the course of the follow‐up period, 1,827 (5.53%) individuals developed AD. Auditory impairment was not found to be correlated with the incidence of AD. The hazard ratio (HR) for the development of AD in relation to auditory impairment was 1.31 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.65 ‐ 2.64).ConclusionThe examination of the long‐term care certification questionnaire data did not reveal any correlation between auditory function and the onset of AD. The limitations of this study include the inability to determine the use of hearing aids or the timing of onset of auditory impairment. Further investigations are necessary to clarify the relationship between auditory function and dementia.

The Development Trend of Japan's Aging Population and Its Main Impact on the Economy

In recent years, Japan attracted global attention due to its aging population. This paper analyzes the causes, the process and development trends of aging population in Japan’s society. According to the study, it is not difficult to find that the current aging population in Japan comes from the first baby boom and the aging rate will continue to increase. At the same time, this paper analyzes the main impacts of aging population on economy and finds that although Japan’s aging population may not only lead to economic recession owning to lack of labor, but lead Japanese government to spend more money on overseas trade. However, it will develop nursing industry and artificial intelligence robots specifically for the elderly. The Japanese government try to solve these problems with positive attitude and has introduced many policies. As a result, these efforts to alleviate aging population are worth learning from all over the world.

Fostering Pharmacists to Succeed in a Drastically Changing Society

In 2006, Japan's pharmaceutical science education was revised to a 6-year enrollment course, placing greater emphasis on cultivating practical clinical ability. Quality Assurance (QA) measures have been implemented including offering education based on a model core curriculum and third-party assessments. In August 2021, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) launched an investigative commission to review the above. For QA, the commission summarized a comprehensive report in August 2022 for items including: modality of selecting entrants; revising enrollment limits; securing education management; information disclosure; corresponding to pharmaceutical education assessments. For revising the model core curriculum, the commission is reviewing correspondence to: demographic changes due to decreasing birthrates, an ageing population, changes in the structure of diseases; rising and emerging infectious diseases; utilizing Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI). As Japan's ageing population is forecast to peak in 2040s, pharmacists must be fostered to provide safe and quality medicine towards a drastically changing future. Medical care is provided through the collaboration of various professions. In such changing demographics, team medicine is crucial to provide quality medical care. Moreover, towards all medical professions sharing the same vision, revisions to the model core curricula for medical and dental education are also being reviewed. The commission is now reviewing detailed curricula to foster pharmacists with competencies to: comprehensively assess patients and ordinary citizens; utilize information science and technology; professionalism. Towards securing quality pharmaceutical education, pharmaceutical departments at universities must also organize and implement an educational curriculum based on the Model Core Curriculum for Pharmaceutical Education. This paper will introduce the investigative commission's review.

1990 Japan Economic Crisis

What can each country learn from this? How can economic crises be effectively avoided? When an economic crisis occurs, what can be done to avoid adopting the wrong policies? This paper is based on the economic crisis that occurred in Japan in the 1990s because of the rapid appreciation of the Japanese yen following the signing of the Plaza Agreement. The paper is divided into four sections to analyze the Japanese economic crisis of 1990. It describes the following questions: what led to the crisis in Japan; what impact the crisis had on Japan; what methods the Japanese government used during the crisis and what lessons the crisis brought; what each country can learn from it; and whether they can do better than the Japanese government did when it faced the economic crisis in 1990. Through the study, this paper finds that the Japanese government in 1990 did not immediately deal with and make adjustment plans when faced with the crisis. Secondly, it maintained an optimistic attitude. This is what led to the creation of the economic crisis. And this economic crisis pressed the pause button on Japan, which was growing at a fast pace, and stagnated the Japanese economy for 10 years. The effects of Japan's high ageing population and high divorce rate in that period continue to this day and seriously affect a country's economic development.

Demographic change, government debt and fiscal sustainability in Japan: The impact of bond purchases by the Bank of Japan

We reconsider the fiscal consequences of an aging population in Japan that were reported in Hansen and İmrohoroğlu (2016). That paper predicted that the net debt to GNP ratio would reach 250 percent in 2021, while the actual net debt to GNP ratio was roughly constant at about 120% from 2011 to 2019. Here we study the role played by higher tax revenues, lower spending, and lower interest rates than were assumed in the previous paper. Most importantly, we consider the role played by Japanese government bonds held by the Bank of Japan in enabling this period of debt stability. We conclude that the stable net debt to output ratio is predicted to be temporary and reach 250 percent before 2040.

Outcomes of Cancer Patients Who Seek Outpatient Visits Despite Post-chemotherapy Decline.

The medical needs of cancer patients are complex and increase with the disease's progression. However, Japan's aging population and increased medical needs have produced challenges like a shortage of hospital beds. Therefore, patients who have completed chemotherapy are recommended home-based care or referred to local palliative care facilities, especially when cancer treatment is no longer a viable option and outpatient visits become unfeasible. However, some patients still strive to continue outpatient visits, which could result in increased pain and possible urgent hospitalization. These patients may spend their final days in the hospital, which may not have been their desired outcome. Therefore, we examined the outcomes of patients who were recommended home-based care. The study population comprised 34 cancer patients undergoing treatment at the Oncology Outpatient Department of Edogawa Hospital who were recommended home-based care owing to their difficulty attending outpatient visits. Data regarding home-based care recommendations were obtained from the lists of medical social welfare interventions and hospitalized patients. Patients were classified based on whether they opted for home-based care and their caregivers' caregiving capacity. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier curve and the log-rank test, and the groups were compared using Fisher's exact test. The median interval between the initial consultation with an oncologist and the date of recommendation for home-based care was six and a half months. Home-based care was mostly recommended because of the progression of cachexia (23 cases) and the worsening of symptoms (11 cases). The median survival for the groups with cachexia and worsening symptoms was 25 days and 35 days, respectively. Ten patients refused home-based care. Of them, six refused it because they wished to continue with outpatient visits. Of the home-based care group (24 patients), only one required an emergency room (ER) visit, while four of the non-home-based care group required ER visits. Regarding end-of-life care, 19 from the home-based care group and four from the non-home-based care group received end-of-life care at home. Additionally, one of the two patients who lived alone and two of the six patients whose caregivers were deemed to have insufficient caregiving capacity received end-of-life care at home. Of the remaining 24 patients, 22 received end-of-life care at home. The short survival period of the group with cachexia indicates that it would be beneficial for patients, their family members, and home-based care providers to facilitate earlier referral to home-based care. However, while home-based care is beneficial for patients who wish to spend their final days at home and for their family members, short-term and achievable goals, such as attending the next outpatient visit, may alleviate anxiety in cancer patients and enable them to live their daily lives without constant awareness of death. Additionally, while non-home-based care could lead to extended pain due to the lack of readily accessible medical personnel, ER visits, and hospital-based end-of-life care, home-based care can be mentally and physically strenuous for the primary caregiver. Therefore, comprehensive information about palliative care options should be provided early on during the outpatient visits of cancer patients who wish for home-based care for informed decision-making.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the primary lung cancer screening program in Akita Prefecture, a region with the fastest aging population in Japan.

Akita Prefecture has the largest proportion of older inhabitants and the highest cancer mortality rate in Japan. Lung cancer is one of the biggest killers, and early detection is critical. Chest X-ray examinations are the main screening method for lung cancer; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the screening system. Here, we evaluate how COVID-19 has affected lung cancer screening in Akita Prefecture. Using the Akita General Health Corporation database, the average annual number of chest X-ray screening tests, close examinations and lung cancer diagnoses (stratified by sex and age) was evaluated during 2016-2019, and compared with the 2020 values. Furthermore, data on lung cancer registrations from 2018 to 2020 were obtained from the Collaborative Akita Prefecture Hospital-Based Cancer Registration System and analyzed. The average annual number of screening tests, close examinations and lung cancer diagnoses declined (by >50%) between 2016 to 2019 and 2020, especially among older people (aged ≥65 years). Furthermore, by stage, the number of patients with early-stage lung cancer (stage 0-I) decreased, and the number with advanced-stage cancer (stage IV) increased. The COVID-19 pandemic reduced lung cancer screening participation, especially among the older adult population in Akita Prefecture, resulting in a decrease in lung cancer diagnoses through screening. This might have reduced the number of early-stage cancer registrations. It is necessary to improve health education among the public regarding the importance of chest X-ray screening. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 622-627.

일본 사회의 공동식사가 갖는 함의와 사회적 기능

This paper aims to examine the implications of Japanese communal meals and their social functions. It has been found that the increase in single-person households and the elderly population in Japan leads to social problems such as isolation and loneliness. As a solution, Japan has established a new goal of increasing the proportion of people who share meals from the second diet education. This paper analyzed data related to recent joint meals in Japan. The results are as follows. First, Japanese communal meals originated from ancient rituals. It has implications for public communications with ritual participants, gods and ancestors, which strengthens the solidarity of community members socially and acts as a function of mental integration. Second, in various conflicts surrounding food, communal meals act as buffers and function for conflict mitigation. Third, in joint meals, individual instincts are suppressed by being conscious of others and communicating with each other, which means that you look at yourself through others and identify yourself as a member of society. Fourth, joint meals serve as traditional succession because they are exchanged with participants of different generations. This paper suggests that when Korea is about to enter a super-aged society, various socio-cultural uses of food can be considered to maintain a healthy society, as in the case of Japan.

Comprehensive cost of illness of all diseases in Japan: Measurement of the social burden of diseases in a super-aged society

BackgroundEvaluation of the social burden of illness is important for policy decision-making. However, policy-makers find indicators traditionally used in the healthcare field difficult to use because calculation of these indicators is complex and the unit of indicators is often expressed on “years” basis. The aim of this study was to measure the burden of all diseases using the Comprehensive Cost of Illness (CCOI) method and to provide indicators that are easy to use for policy-making. MethodsUtilizing government-based nationwide statistical data, we used the CCOI method to estimate the social burden of illness from 2002 to 2017. CCOI consists of direct costs (medical direct cost and formal care cost) and indirect costs (morbidity cost, mortality cost, and informal care cost). ResultsFrom 2002 to 2017, CCOI increased from 66.5 trillion yen (12.9% of the gross domestic product [GDP]) to 90.6 trillion yen (16.6% of GDP). From 2002 to 2017, the three top-ranked diseases influencing CCOI did not change. The ranking of these diseases (from first to third) is as follows: circulatory system diseases, neoplasms, and digestive diseases. ConclusionsThe trend of CCOI is consistent with the trends of national health expenditure and disability-adjusted life years. The CCOI method is expressed in monetary terms, so the effects of aging and the development of medical technology are represented by trends in each cost and are considered valuable as the basis of health policy, instead of national health expenditure. Public Interest SummaryMeasuring the social burden of disease is important for making policy decisions. There have been indicators to measure the burden of disease in the past, but they have been complex and difficult to use because they are measured in "years". We have developed a comprehensive cost-of-illness method (CCOI) that includes the burden of long-term care by applying a method called the cost-of-illness method (COI), which expresses the burden of illness in monetary terms. Using this method, we measured the cost of illness in Japan's aging population, which in 2017 was 66.5 trillion yen (approximately US$532 billion), accounting for 12.9% of GDP. Since this method expresses the burden in monetary terms, it is expected to be a useful indicator for policy making.

Estimation of regional anthropogenic heat from air conditioning systems and related devices in metropolitan commercial districts of Japan

With the expanding urban areas and increasing elderly population in Japan, anthropogenic heat poses substantial threat to human health. Air conditioning systems contribute to the anthropogenic heat from buildings. However, information regarding the heat characteristics of these systems is inadequate. In the present study, we developed a method for estimating anthropogenic heat from air conditioning, which accounts for most of the artificial heat from buildings during summer, to include artificial anthropogenic heat from surrounding buildings in the local heat risk assessment. The estimation results for commercial areas in Japan using the developed method showed that latent heat from air conditioning is substantially higher than sensible heat, and there was a difference in heat emissions between daytime and nighttime and between weekdays and holidays. A comparison of the calculation results of our method and those of previous studies showed no major differences in the orders of magnitude. With regard to the change in the amount of air-conditioning anthropogenic heat in the region, a directly proportional relationship was found between the outdoor temperature and the amount of air-conditioning anthropogenic heat. These results are useful for assessing the summer heat risk in urban areas and developing methods to mitigate the risks posed by urban heat.

The Next Generation of Japan's National Security

The Next Generation of Japan's National Security Marina Fujita Dickson (bio) and Yoichi Funabashi (bio) Japan's security policy has undergone several drastic changes in past decade: the establishment of the National Security Council in 2013; the easing of defense equipment exports in 2014; and, most recently, the publication of the new National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Defense Buildup Program white papers in late 2022, combined with the increase of the defense budget to 2% of GDP and plans to establish new measures like a counterstrike capability. While many analysts have highlighted these developments as significant shifts in Japan's strategic priorities, a single major factor looms in the background that continues to hinder developments—Japan's aging population. Japan's attempt to become a "normal nation"—a country with an effective security policy that can accept the use of force as a potential policy tool—is constrained today by a declining birth rate, an aging population that both stresses the government's budget and limits the recruitment pool for the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), and the slow pace of technology adoption in the JSDF. Tom Phuong Le's book Japan's Aging Peace: Pacifism and Militarism in the Twenty-First Century addresses these major challenges and uniquely explores the intersection between Japanese defense policy and the country's demographic crisis, detailing exactly why and how these issues are causational. First, fewer children mean fewer potential military recruits. Second, an older, aging population requires a larger budget for institutions like the pension system, leaving less money for defense matters, such as recruiting and retaining troops. Le carefully describes both the uniqueness and individuality of the problem; while most developed economies today are experiencing declining birth rates, Japan's crisis has arguably attracted the most attention as a social phenomenon over the last two decades. In exploring how the abovementioned demographic shift affects Japan's defense, Le compares Japan with its neighbors South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Singapore, which all have some form of mandatory conscription. Yet, each of these countries faces the same issue of an aging population—and [End Page 169] some of these countries (such as Taiwan and South Korea) are experiencing this problem to an even more acute degree than Japan. Having tapped into the full extent of their recruitment pool, these four countries could be looking at a potentially more dire situation in their future. Indeed, Japan is not the only country, but rather just the first, to face the challenge of an aging population. Le argues that the way in which Japan manages this crisis domestically will thus be a lesson for its neighbors. Throughout the text, the author also underscores the various constraints on Japanese militarism beyond demographics, including issues resulting from an underdeveloped military industrial complex, arms export principles, public opinion, the constitution, the international stigma of militarism, the U.S.-Japan alliance, and Japan's three nonnuclear principles, among others. While the government can alleviate some of these issues through policy reform, many are norms that cannot be overcome without "significant social engineering" (p. 11), which is beyond the capability of the government. While Le's discussion of Japan's intertwined demographic and defense challenges—and the immense hurdles Japan faces to overcome them—is crucial, Le's most important contribution to the existing literature is perhaps his examination of "militarism" itself as a concept. Some scholars have predicted that Japan will "return to normal security behavior" (p. 34), but what do they mean by that precisely? Because there is a lack of specificity in this idea of a return to normal, it is unclear what path of militarization Japan would take and what it would mean for the country's future. It is clear, however, that Japan's "return to normal" in military terms will not be a return to the 1930s. To understand this point, one must look beyond conventional metrics of militarization such as the "increased activity" of the armed forces or changes in the defense budget to other indicators such as civil-military dynamics, the prevalence of military symbols in public view, and education on Japanese history and war, to name a few. In...

Impact assessment study of mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) on social equity through nonwork accessibility in rural Japan

People with transportation access can easily join socioeconomic activities. However, insufficient accessibility levels hinder this engagement, causing the inequitable distribution of transportation benefits. Accessibility distribution for nonwork activities has become a serious issue, especially in rural Japan's aging population. Using the National Integrated Transport Analysis System's travel survey data, this study aims to evaluate whether Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) can enhance social equity and accessibility levels, specifically for vulnerable groups in most need of aid in rural Japan. To assess accessibility distribution for nonwork activities, person- and place-based accessibility measures provided detailed observations of individual accessibility levels across social groups. The Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve measured the fairness of transportation benefits distribution for different transportation modes. Transportation was less accessible to the elderly than to young and middle-aged people, and bus accessibility was unequal. Nevertheless, the AI on-demand shuttle caused a remarkable decrease in the accessibility inequity of two out-of-home activities.

Efficacy of Kampo medicine Kakkonto as acute medication to treat tension-type headache among musculoskeletal pain patients using regular analgesics.

Tension-type headache (TTH) is the most prevalent type of primary headache disorder. Its acute pharmacotherapy is acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs based on the Japanese Clinical Practice Guideline for Headache Disorders 2021. With Japan's aging population, however, the number of TTH patients with comorbidities that have been treated by analgesics is increasing. Under this context, it is sometimes difficult to select an acute pharmacotherapy for TTH. Kakkonto, Japanese traditional herbal kampo medicine, is empirically used for TTH. We hypothesized that kakkonto has efficacy for TTH with painful comorbidities. We prospectively collected 10 consecutive TTH patients who had already taken analgesics for comorbidities. We prescribed 2.5g of kakkonto (TJ-1), and patients took it. A numerical rating scale for pain before and 2 hours after kakkonto intake was evaluated. Eight women and 2 men were included. The mean age was 71.0 ± 13.4 years old. Four patients had lower back pain, 2 had lumbar spinal stenosis, 2 had knee pain, 1 had neck pain, and 1 had shoulder myofasciitis. Celecoxib was used for 4 patients, acetaminophen for 3, loxoprofen for 2, and a combination of tramadol and acetaminophen for 1, as routinely used analgesics. The median numerical rating scale statistically improved from the median of 4 to that of 0. There were no side effects of kakkonto. Kakkonto showed efficacy as an acute medication for TTH with comorbidities that have been treated by analgesic.

2245. Urinary tract infections in the elderly population in Japan; long hospital stay, high medical costs, and decline in the activities of daily living scores

Abstract Background Japan has one of the most aging societies in the world. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common disease in the elderly, and the incidence of hospitalization owing to UTI is increasing with the aging population. Here, we examined the length of hospital stay, differences in the Barthel index (BI), activities of daily living score (ADLs) at admission and discharge, and medical costs of UTI in elderly patients. Methods We retrospectively included hospitalized UTI patients in our center between January 1, 2013 and March 31, 2019. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) urine culture positive for Escherichia coli (over 104 colony forming units/mL) within 48 h of admission, and (2) the presence of at least one of the following: fever ≥ 38°C, costovertebral angle tenderness, suprapubic tenderness, and dysuria at the time of admission. We classified the enrolled patients into four groups according to age: young adults (20–64 years), pre-old (65–74 years), old (75–84 years), and super-old (≥ 85 years). Patient characteristics were compared across groups using the Mann–Whitney U test, Fisher’s exact test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. The Bonferroni corrected P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results This study enrolled 393 cases, including 112 (28.4%) young adults, 72 (18.3%) pre-old, 130 (33.2%) old, and 79 (20.1%) super-old. The lengths of hospital stay were 10.8, 17.9, 17.2, and 21.6 days in young adults, pre-old, old, and super-old, respectively (P < 0.05). Differences in the BI were 1.2, 4.2, 5.2, and 5.2 in young adults, pre-old, old, and super-old, respectively (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences in these values were noted among the pre-old, old, and super-old groups. The medical costs were 6,054, 8,310, 10,129, and 12,577-USD (1USD = 128 yen) in young adults, pre-old, old, and super-old, respectively (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, a comparison of the medical costs per day showed no significant differences among the groups. Conclusion UTI in elderly patients were associated with ADLs decline, longer hospital stays, and higher medical costs than those in younger patients; however, no significant differences were found among those aged ≥ 65 years. Disclosures Sho Saito, MD, PhD, DAIICHI SANKYO: Grant/Research Support|EVEC: Grant/Research Support|EVEC: Patents obtained through collaborative research|SHIONOGI: Grant/Research Support|Takeda: Advisor/Consultant.

Aging and the politics of monetary policy in Japan

AbstractThis paper explores how Japan's aging population impacts the politics of monetary policy. Previous research suggests that the elderly have a variety of distinct policy preferences. Given that elderly voters also have higher voting rates, the rapid greying of the population could have significant effects on distributive struggles over economic policy across much of the developed world. In Japan, aging is advancing rapidly, and the central bank has engaged in massive monetary stimulus to induce inflation, which existing work suggests the elderly should oppose. Analyzing results from three surveys, this paper has three central findings: (1) the elderly tend to have higher inflation aversion, (2) the elderly display some opposition to quantitative easing (QE), and (3) despite such policy preferences, the concentration of elderly in electoral districts has no significant effect on the preferences either of legislative incumbents or candidates. The third finding is attributable to the fact that elderly opposition to QE is moderated by their partisan identification. Elderly Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) voters have systematically lower opposition to QE, likely reflecting that these voters have aligned their preferences with the LDP's policies.