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  • Essay / A healthy aging society in Japan

    Japan is known to be the oldest country in the world. Normal people would be surprised that they are living longer, but economists like us see challenges and problems to solve. Japan is an island country also known as the Land of the Rising Sun. It is full of natural resources and marine life. Additionally, the country is classified as having one of the oldest populations in the world despite its disastrous climate which generally decreases the population. One of the reasons for the longevity of the Japanese is surely the nutritious diet they consume throughout their lives. Japan is the country that shocked the world that it can develop a healthy aging society through good nutrition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn June 2018, I had the chance to attend Meiji University for a summer exchange program because it is a partner of Chulalongkorn University. I went to Tokyo, the metropolitan city, and saw many elders living in the city. My teacher, aged seventy, taught on this subject. Therefore, I began to wonder why the life expectancy of Japanese people is so long? I hardly see people living over 100 years in Thailand, but it is quite common in Japan that people can still walk when they are over a hundred years old. Marmot and Smith (1989) concluded in their study that the longevity of the Japanese depends on a good social welfare system and good nutrition. This article will further examine the population structure from the perspective of public welfare, which is considered a chronic problem. What could be some of the reasons for Japan's low GDP growth rate over the past decade? I looked at the data on Social Security tax rates and it turns out they are about 30% tax collected on income. Ten years ago, the average social security contribution rate was 25%. So my question is: why is the government collecting a higher tax? Social Security is the primary source of revenue that the government can spend on social welfare, public programs, and many other types of benefits that will improve the public. Over the past ten years, government spending relative to GDP has reached 40%, placing a heavy burden on current taxpayers. With Japan's demographic pattern moving toward an aging society in the future, the outcome would be much worse than expected. To put it in a simpler term, this means that the birth rate is low and the death rate is high, so fewer newcomers will replace the labor force in the future, and the labor force current will shift to an aging society in the near future. Due to the intergenerational demographic structure and taxation, future generations will face high tax rates due to the 50-year population decline and continued decline (Population aged 15-64 (% of total )). This tax incident could be interpreted as current workers being forced to support the elderly by paying a higher tax, meaning that the current and future generation would be worse off, while the retired citizen benefits of his leisure activities with the support of the government. From what I learned during my stay in Japan, I learned that the cost of living in Japan is very high even though my Japanese friend also confirmed this. Therefore, not only domestic workers have to pay for..