Japan has had more elderly people aged over 65 than younger people aged 15 and younger since 1997. Above graph shows other countries are following the same trend as in Japan. What does this mean to me? As a 50-year old, it is about ME. And as a researcher, I am tremendously interested in what is happening and what might happen in the future. Also as a researcher, it seems to me Japan is a good place to do market study for aging population.
It is not a sexy topic. It is not about continuously improving someone. A person may receive improved services, but that person is not going to become physically better.  In most of the cases, aging person is likely to deteriorate in their mental capability.  But this is the way things are, and as they say, if you can’t change something, you can change the way you see it. And as for aging population, it certainly is already a big market, and it is therefore a big business opportunity.
Patricia Moore is famous as gerontologist and designer. It’s time we do more for designing for the society where nearly a half of the entire population of Japan is over 50 years old.
FUJIKO SUDA 