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	<< Back "DAWN" Newsletter of The DAWN CENTER Japan's Aged Society from a Gender Viewpoint Reading the "White Paper on Aged Society" Makiko Komatsu Chairperson of the Gender and System Institute Part-time lecturer, Mukogawa Women's College The "White Paper on an Aged Society, 2003," issued by the cabinet office, contains a number of sections of interest to those working for gender equality. Japan's ratio of the elderly to the total population reached 18.5% in October 2002. For women, the ratio has already reached 20.4%. Women's average life expectancy of 84.93 years is seven years longer than men's (78.07). Both are the longest in the world. Every study of the elderly indicates that they are anxious about health, money, and loneliness. These three concerns are closely connected and are indications of the quality of life for the elderly. Furthermore, a gender gap exists for all three. It is often said that the aging problem is a woman's problem. The first reason for this is that the rate of women in the total population increases according to age. Women account for 57.6% of those aged 65 and older in Japan, and 63.8% of those aged 75 and older. Clearly, this indicates a gender difference regarding marital life for those aged 65 and older (83.1% of men are married, while only 45.5% of women are). Second, most women have small pensions and difficulty in maintaining financial independence because they worked for fewer years or were paid less than men because they spent time on child-rearing and maintaining the home. Third, women overwhelmingly shoulder more responsibility in caring for aged parents. The Gender and System Institute is concerned with how these problems are dealt with and supported by governmental policies. Therefore, the “White Paper on an Aged Society, 2003” was closely examined for this information. The White Paper consists to two major sections: Chapter 1, Present Status of Aging; Chapter 2, Present State of Administration of Provisions for the Aged Society. Following these chapters, a description of "The Plans and Measures for the Aged Society in 2003" is given. Let's examine the current state of these problems. Health Problems The first of the three gender gap issues is seen in health issues, which are the most common area for anxiety among the elderly. According to the Basic Survey on National Lifestyle 2001, 24.9% of elderly women and 21.6% of elderly men have difficulty in everyday life. While both groups have difficulty, women suffer falling accidents twice as often as men. In April 2000, the Public Nursing Care Insurance System began. Year by year, more people have been certified as in need of nursing care. A main reason for nursing care is cerebral hemorrhages, which afflict 49.9% of men but only 20.2% of women. One concern is who is the main caretaker when the elderly suffer ill health. As Figure 1 shows, family members living in the same dwelling provide 71.1% of care and family members living separately provide 7.5%. Among family members living in the same dwelling, male caregivers provide care 16.8% of the time (husbands 8.2%, sons 7.6%, son-in-laws 0.5%), while female caregivers provide 54.3% of this care (daughter-in-laws 22.1%, wives 17.6%, daughters 12.3%). This indicates a main feature of elderly care in Japan; daughter-in-laws provide the largest proportion of care. As of 2001, nursing services provided only 9.3% of care. Economic Activity and Income The gender gap in income is remarkable. The average personal income for men is 3.036 million yen, but for women is only 1.124 million yen. Among the elderly, 16.5% of women have no income, while only 4.4% men have none. Among women more than 75 years old, 19.1% have no income. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has enacted policies for employment for those between 55 and 65 years old. Those more than 70 years old are not considered in government statistics. No consideration is given to the fact that gender differences in employment increase according to age. (See Figure 2: Employment Status, Ages 55 and Over.) Sex roll divisions also exist in other areas. As to housework among elderly people, women shoulder 62.9% of unpaid housework, while men provide only 13.3%. Similarly, 8.6% of elderly women are the main breadwinners, while men are 43.8%. Loneliness and Social Activities As of 2000, 2.29 million elderly women and 740,000 men were living alone. One out of five women has no relationship with people in her neighborhood, while one out of three men has no such relationship. Similarly, 20.9% of women and 29% of men have no close friends. On the other hand, more men than women participate in group activities (56.6% of men and 48.9% of women) and community organizations (62.7% versus 48.0%). These figures show the tendency of men to be more active in groups and organizations. Provisions for an Aged Society One of the features of this year's White Paper is the report of the Second World Conference about Aging in Madrid in 2002. From this information, we are able to compare Japan's policies with international policies adopted after the Vienna Conference in 1982. Another feature is the presentation of provisions for an aging society along side provisions for dealing with the declining birthrate. The political declaration in the "International Action Plan 2002" adopted at the Madrid Conference says, "Gender Equality should be the mainstream in every policy." In Japan, not every policy fulfills the spirit of this declaration. One of the areas currently under review and reform because of Japan's financial difficulties is the public pension system. This consists of two parts, a proportional pension based on pre-retirement salary and a basic pension given everyone. (See Figure 3: Japan's Pension System). At the end of 2002, the Pension Bureau of the Social Security Council, an advisory panel to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, presented the direction for dealing with "the declining birthrate, women's participation in the workforce, and changes in working patterns." Two points are notable. The first point is the review of benefits and contributions to pensions. The Welfare Ministry plans to change to a fixed premium system and adjust the level of pension benefits accordingly instead of raising payments to maintain the level of benefits at 59% of pre-retirement take-home income as provided under the current pension program. The second point in the Welfare Ministry's plan is discussion of women's pensions. Above all, two items are likely to be influential. Item one aims at "building a neutral pension system to allow choice of diverse lifestyles," and recommends that employees’ pension insurance should be expanded to insure part-time and temporary workers so that they pay premiums in proportion to their income and receive pension benefits. The second one is addressed at the "third grade insured." This group consists primarily of full-time housewives, usually the unemployed spouses of salaried workers. They receive a basic pension without paying premiums and their formerly employed spouse (primarily men) receives an extra pension benefit. However, in the case of divorce, the unemployed spouse (primarily women) receives only the basic pension. After 2004, part of the employee's pension will be divided between husband and wife following a divorce. Page Top Copyright (C) 2007 DawnCenter. All Rights Reserved.