China-Singapore Jingwei, November 30 (Zhang Yanzheng and Wang Yuling) Ms. Gao, who lives in Beijing, still remembers what she saw when she got off the plane during her first trip to Japan: a gray-haired staff member was orderly sorting passengers luggage.
During the subsequent trip, the waiter who was over 70 years old brought kaiseki dishes to her at the hotel.
Local residents told her that this is just a common scene in Japan's aging society.
In fact, as early as 1970, Japan has entered an aging society, one of its major characteristics is that the employment rate of the elderly is particularly high.
According to the results of the 2020 labor force survey released by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in September 2021, there were 9.06 million elderly people who were still working last year, an increase for 17 consecutive years and a record high.
Among them, elderly people aged 65 and over accounted for 29.1% of the total population of Japan, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year's statistics.
In other words, among 10 Japanese, there are almost 3 elderly people.
According to the employment ratio, one in four senior citizens is working.
What jobs do Japanese seniors do after retirement?
When aging has become a common problem faced by many countries around the world, what experience does Japan have to learn from?
New longitude and latitude Zhang Yanzheng in the data map
Hiring older employees has become the norm
"About 20% of our company's employees are elderly." Mr. Zhang, the Chinese boss who started a company in Japan, told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that his company's main business is to match Chinese people who want to go to Japan to see a doctor, and provide medical consultation and guidance. , Docking and other services.
"What impact will hiring seniors have on the company?" When Zhongxin Jingwei threw this question to Mr. Zhang, he paused to think on the phone and said: Employing senior employees is already the norm for companies here.
"Older people mainly hold some clerical positions in our company, which are similar to the positions they had before retirement." Mr. Zhang said that older employees are more stable and more experienced than younger employees.
In 2021, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Welfare and Welfare’s "Elderly Employment Stability Law" amendment bill disclosed that in addition to protecting the employment opportunities of employees under 65, companies should also work hard to take the following measures: raise the retirement age to 70; abolish the retirement age; introduce 70 The system for continuing employment under the age of 70; the introduction of allowing employees to continue to engage in social contribution projects independently implemented by enterprises before the age of 70, etc. The bill will be implemented on April 1 this year.
Mr. Zhang said that the Japanese government has incentives for companies that employ a high proportion of elderly employees, but his company has not yet applied for it due to non-compliance.
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"The elderly in Japan are basically temporary workers. They are no different from young people in terms of working hours, assessment tasks, and job security, but their wages are generally only one-third of that of regular employees." Mr. Zhang said.
According to Mr. Zhang, Japan’s pension is divided into a national pension and an employee’s pension. The national pension is the basic guarantee. The employee’s pension is paid jointly by the company and employees and is paid collectively when they retire.
As a result, the situation of the elderly in Japan is divided into three categories: first, they live on odd jobs when they are young, and there is no company to pay for their pensions. This group of people belongs to the poor; the second is the heirs of the family business; the third is the formal business After retiring, out of the need to realize self-worth, I did odd jobs in the company to make money.
Before retiring, Tatsuko Deta was the secretary of Mr. Zhang's company. After retiring at the age of 65, he accepted the company's re-employment as a front desk position, responsible for connecting with Japanese medical institutions and receiving Chinese guests.
Her monthly salary is about 240,000 yen (about 13,500 yuan), which is about one-third of that of young people.
"I will work for another 5 years or so. When the mortgage is fully paid off, I will rest." Tsutako Deta said that she bought a new property in her 50s and hopes to continue working to repay the mortgage.
According to Mr. Zhang, Tatsuko Deta has never taken a day off during this job, and has never even arrived late or left early. He is a veritable "standard employee".
"For a long time, Japan has advocated that the elderly can also shine for the society, so these elderly employees will not feel that they are suffering." Mr. Zhang said.
The 77-year-old Terasaka was previously the general manager of a well-known automobile company in China. After retiring in 2004, he opened a factory in Langfang, Hebei Province, specializing in the production of small auto parts.
Now living in Japan, he still often discusses work progress with employees remotely.
He told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that many retired friends and colleagues around him occasionally work part-time if their body and energy permit, and take a break for a while and spend more time on their hobbies.
"The average life expectancy in Japan is around 85. If you retire at 60, you still have 25 years to go." said Liu Keyang, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Osaka University. Coupled with the relatively loose retirement system of Japanese companies or units, many people would choose to retire. After continuing to work, take the professors of Osaka University as an example. If their physical conditions permit, most of them will work until they are 70 or 80 years old.
After retiring at the age of 65, colleges and universities may re-employ them, and they can go to other research institutes to serve as directors or hospital directors.
"It's hard to do nothing after retirement." Liu Keyang said that the work of Japanese seniors after retirement is not in the original sense, but more part-time. Adjust the "part-time job" table according to your own schedule. , That is, work for a period of time and rest for a period of time.
In fact, Japan’s related “part-time job” industries are relatively mature.
Liu Keyang introduced that municipal departments across Japan have launched related services specifically for the employment of the elderly, including pruning and gardening, cleaning, and financial accounting.
After the elderly are registered with the municipal government, if there is a company or individual who needs corresponding services, the elderly can be arranged to do it.
"If it is a general housekeeping service, professional young people have to charge a service fee of more than 200 yuan per hour, but the salary of the elderly may be less than half the price. However, they can choose the right time to work according to their physical conditions. This is a win-win situation for both parties." Liu Keyang said.
What challenges are still facing the employment of the elderly?
According to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, the elderly are engaged in the wholesale and retail industry the most, with 1.28 million, followed by agriculture and forestry with 1.06 million, service industry with 1.04 million, and manufacturing industry with 920,000.
In Liu Keyang's view, there are certain social background factors for the elderly to choose the service industry.
For example, the maximum age for obtaining a driver’s license in China is not more than 70 years old, while Japan’s control over driver’s licenses is relatively loose, as long as they are over 18 years old, there is no upper age limit.
In addition, many homestays in Japan are old-fashioned hotels passed down by families, and many elderly people will keep the industry and continue to operate.
When talking about the challenges and difficulties of work, Tatsuko Deta said that under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, although the company's business has been affected, employees will still be paid as usual.
However, the epidemic prevention and control measures have led to a surge in the use of online software, and it is still difficult for Tatsuko Deta to use electronic devices proficiently, so she can only ask her colleagues to install the relevant software, and then slowly adapt and learn.
Photographed by Zhang Yanzheng, new latitude and longitude in the street view data map of Japan
In addition, the health of the elderly is also one of the concerns of many employers.
Mr. Zhang said that there are also elderly employees in the company who suffer from chronic diseases and need to go to the outpatient clinics to review and get medicines. In this case, employees are usually coordinated to change shifts and try not to affect the company’s work. “As an employer, I definitely hope not to break the work rhythm. The elderly in Japan are very healthy, and their physical condition in their 70s or 80s can still support all-day work." (Zhongxin Jingwei APP)
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