Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Silver Market Phenomenon pp 71–82Cite as

Japan’s Demographic Changes, Social Implications, and Business Opportunities

  • Chapter

Abstract

The “aging problem” should not be viewed as an economic encumbrance. It is better viewed in the context of the robustness of the economy. Expansion of the carrying capacity of the active labor force as well as active aging among older adults will decrease the burden on society. This chapter draws out social and cultural implications of demographic changes in the context of Japan’s transformation from a Fordist to post-Fordist economy. The distinction shifts attention to the social organization of technology-based service industries. The growing number of older persons and senior households means immense business opportunities for developing new solutions, products, and services. Older adults are potent consumers, willing and economically able to secure independent living and a high quality of life. This chapter discusses a number of emerging silver industries, including housing and real estate, food, pets, robotics, senior care appliances, and the funeral market.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. T. Aritake, Japan’s elder power: most Western CEOs have yet to discover the nation’s immi- nent spending power, Chief Executives January 1 (2005), http://findarticles.com/p/articles/ mi m4070/is 205/ai n13787906

  2. Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (2007), http://smart-machines.blogspot.com/2007/06/mitsubishi-robot-receptionist-available.html. Accessed 19 June 2007

  3. Asia Pacific Trade Council, Report of the Japan Market Advisory Group April 2007, British Columbia (2007), http://www.asiapacifictradecouncil.ca/pdf/japan report.pdf

  4. K. Belson, These oldies look golden to Japan Inc. Business Week Online (17 July 2000), http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00 29/b3690152.htm

  5. J. Brooke, Japan seeks robotic help caring for the aged. New York Times (5 Mar 2004), http://www.nytimes.com / 2004 / 03 / 05 /international /asia / 05JAPA.html?ex=1393822800&en= eb854fe2a4e6c9bd&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND

  6. J.C. Campbell, Population aging: hardly Japan’s biggest problem. The Demographic Dilemma: Japan’s Aging Society, Asia Program Special Report, No. 107 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC, 2003), p. 10

    Google Scholar 

  7. Dentsu Inc., Dentsu survey estimates the economic impact on consumption resulting from the retirement of baby boomers, News release by Dentsu Inc. Communications Division, No. 21-2006 (30 Mar 2006), http://www.dentsu.com/news/2006/20060210330html

  8. N. Dethlefs, B. Martin, Sci. Public Policy 33(1), 47 (2006), http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/ bmartin/pubs/06spp.html

  9. International Institute for Applied Analysis, in Populations Aging, Pensions, and Health, Options. vol Summer (International Institute for Applied Analysis, 2003), p. 2, 6

    Google Scholar 

  10. Japan Entrepreneur Report, Report No. 20 (June 2004), http://www.japanentrepreneur.com/200406.html

  11. Japan moving toward more efficient solar power. Japan Today (16 Dec 2004), http://www.japantoday.com/jp/feature/797

  12. Japan unveils “robot suit” that enhances human power. Space Daily (7 June 2005), http:// www.spacedaily.com/news/robot-05zq.html

  13. D. Jaffee, Organizational Theory (New York: McGraw Hill, 2001)

    Google Scholar 

  14. JETRO, Invest Jpn 8(Spring), 8 (2005), http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/newsroom/newsletter/pdf/ij 08.pdf

  15. JETRO, Trends in the Japanese funeral industry. Japan Economic Monthly (February 2006), http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/market/report/pdf/2006 13 p.pdf

  16. JETRO, Attractive sectors: medical care - policy initiatives. http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/market/attract/medical/policy.html

  17. S. Kawano, in Demographic Change and the Family in Japan’s Aging Society, ed. by J.W.Traphagan, J. Knight (SUNY Press, Albany), p. 147

    Google Scholar 

  18. T. Larimer, Man’s best friend. Times Asia (1 May 2000), http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/2000/0501/japan.bestfriends.html

  19. 19. List of Tamagotchi Releases, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of Tamagotchi releases

  20. J. Myles, in Beyond the Marketplace: Rethinking Economy and Society, ed. by R. Frieland, A.F. Robertson (Aldine de Gruyter, New York, 1990), p. 271

    Google Scholar 

  21. H. Nitta, Capitalizing on retirement of Japan’s first baby-boomers. JETRO Japan Economic Report, April-May (2006), http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/market/report/pdf/2006 18 u.pdf

  22. J. Noguchi, Food business line. Japan Market Development Reports (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN Report), VII (3) (March 1-31) (Global Agriculture Informa- tion Network, Tokyo, 25 April 2007), http://www.calwinexport.com/content/Market Info/ FAS%202007/Japan%20Development%20Report%202007.htm

  23. OECD, Economic Survey of Japan 2006 (20 July 2006), http://www.ceri-sciences-po.org/archive/sept06/artoecd.pdf

  24. A. Oreback, A Component Framework for Autonomous Mobile Robots. Ph.D. Disserta- tion, KTH Numerical Analysis and Computer Science, Stockholm, Sweden, 2004. http:// www.nada.kth.se/∼oreback/publik/oreback-thesis.pdf

  25. Physical strength-enhancing wearable ‘power-assist robot suit’ for farmers developed (11 Jan 2008), http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/physical-strength-enhancing-wearable-power- assist-robot-suit-for-farmers-developed/

  26. Robotic baby seal wins top award (22 Dec 2006), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6202765.stm

  27. D. Rosen, C. Usui, UCLA Pac. Basin Law J. 13(1), 32 (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  28. J. Sanders, From science to fiction to reality: personal robots emerge to improve quality of life at work, home and school. Research Horizons Magazine, Georgia Institute of Technology (8 June 2007), http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/personal robotics.htm

  29. F.L. Schodt, Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia (Kodansha International, Tokyo, 1988)

    Google Scholar 

  30. J.H. Schulz, Economics of Aging (Auburn House, New York, 1995)

    Google Scholar 

  31. D. Scuka, Mobile Internet for the silver market (2003), http://unjobs.org/authors/daniel-scuka

  32. Silver Years, Jpn Echo, 33(2) (2006), http://www.japanecho.co.jp/sum/2006/330214.html

  33. SONY, Press releases (25 Jan 2000), http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press Archive/200001/00-002E/

  34. Success and failure in functional water (Nov 2006), http://www.piribo.com/publications/dietary/1181/success failure functional water.html

  35. H. Suzuki, The Price of Death: The Funeral Industry in Contemporary Japan (Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  36. H. Takei, K. Kudo, T. Miyata, Y. Ito, Adaptive strategies for Japan’s retail industry facing a turning point. Nomura Research Institute Papers 110 (1 Oct 2006), http://www.nri.co.jp/english/opinion/papers/2006/pdf/np2006110.pdf

  37. Tamagotchi, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi

  38. Targeting the over 60s key to the Japanese market (7 Aug 2006), http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0608/S00140.htm

  39. J.W. Traphagan, J. Knight (eds.), Demographic Change and the Family in Japan’s Aging Society (SUNY Press, Albany, 2003)

    Google Scholar 

  40. C. Usui, Int. House Jpn Bull. 21(1), 42 (2001). Also published in Japanese as Kokusai Bunka Kaiho 12(1), 54

    Google Scholar 

  41. C. Usui, in The Demographic Dilemma: Japan’s Aging Society, Asia Program Special Report 107 (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC, 2003), p. 16

    Google Scholar 

  42. A.L. Webb, Japan’s dying industry. Newsweek International (23 Dec 2002), http://www.newsweek.com/id/66864. (Updated version 29 Oct 2007, http://www.newsweek.com/id/66864/output/print)

  43. L. Wood, B. Giles-Corti, M. Bulsara, Soc. Sci. Med. 61, 1159 (2005), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=15970228&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, USA

    C. Usui (Chair and Associate Professor)

Authors
  1. C. Usui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F 7-1 Kioicho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0094, Japan

    Florian Kohlbacher

  2. Institut für Technologie- und Innovationsmanagement, TU Hamburg-Harburg, Schwarzenbergstrasse 95, 21073, Hamburg, Germany

    Cornelius Herstatt

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Usui, C. (2008). Japan’s Demographic Changes, Social Implications, and Business Opportunities. In: Kohlbacher, F., Herstatt, C. (eds) The Silver Market Phenomenon. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75331-5_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation