Women Hold the Key | Yoko Sato (Dean, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care)
2006.03.17
It is said that Japan's population has begun to decline after peaking at 127.74 million in 2006, with the elderly population aged 65 and over now exceeding 17% of the total population.
Watching the news about Japan's aging society, declining birthrate, and shrinking population may leave one feeling depressed, as if Japanese society is losing its vitality and entering an era of decline.
However, these circumstances also present a good opportunity for a society that has been sprinting forward to regain a sense of calm and shift toward a more sustainable pace.
The Showa 40s (1965-1974), when I began my professional career, coincided with a period when Japan was riding a wave of high economic growth and running at full throttle. The economy continued its sharp, upward trajectory year after year, and the towns were full of life. Twig-thin models popularized miniskirts, and not only slender young women but also those with fuller figures and mature women alike strode down the streets in them. While that era was also full of vitality and excitement, I feel that economic growth changed the way we use our time. Everyone became busy. Nowadays, few people wait patiently for others to get off the train before boarding. People getting on and off now act simultaneously, bumping shoulders, and seem to have lost the capacity to wait. I must confess that I, too, have become one of those impatient people.
A society with a large elderly population is a society where more people have more free time. They want to enjoy this free time, gained in the twilight of their lives, as richly as possible. From now on, we will likely enter an era of a slower, more relaxed pace. If people can spend this leisurely time enjoying hobbies, connecting with family and friends, and supporting one another, such a society will also be an easier place for young people to live. At SFC, we are creating and developing various tools and systems to ensure comfort in such a society.
We should create a society where we can enjoy the fruits of the wealth and wisdom that we have collectively accumulated over more than 60 years without war. To achieve this, we should make better use of the power of women.
Women are, by nature, the gender that gives birth to and nurtures the next generation. This feminine quality of caring and nurturing should be utilized much more at the core of corporations and government, where it can greatly influence the future vision of society.
I believe this is the answer to a certain apprehension, the question of "What will become of Japan?" The answer not to what will *become* of Japan, but to "What will we *do* with Japan?" lies in respecting femininity—or, if I may be so bold, I believe the utilization of women holds the key.
(Date of publication: 2006/03/17)