Japanese Woman Oldest To Climb Mt. Everest

Cool story from NBC World News via great buddy Matthew of a Japanese woman who is the oldest woman to climb Mt. Everest, our planet's highest mountain.

Truly awesome stuff! If I am still alive at her age, I'm sure I'll be sucking on an oxygen tank at sea level, and here she is at up at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) above sea level.:

CLIMBING HIGHER

An estimated 150 climbers tried to reach the top Friday and Saturday as they rushed to use a brief window of good weather in an otherwise troubled climbing season. Many had been waiting at a staging camp for several days for their chance to head to the summit.

On a sad note, during the descent, four people died:
Shriya Shah-Klorfine, 33, of Toronto who was the first South Asian woman from Canada to get to the top; Wang-yi Fa, 55 of China - his Sherpa guide is still missing. 
These two were killed when strong winds hit the mountain.


Also dead this past weekend are: 
Dr. Eberhard Schaaf, 62, of Germany, and; mountaineer Song Won-bin, 44, of South Korea.

Everest can be a bitch.
Andrew Joseph

Grey Power Fuels Japan's Changing Retail Focus

Okay... so we all know that Japan has a growing senior citizen population. But, I never expected that I would see the day that adult diaper sales would exceed baby diaper sales.

Sign of the times, Japan.

For reasons why, you can read THIS blog.

According to Unicharm Corp., sales of adult diapers in Japan soared past those for babies.

Along with Japan getting older, it means that companies are beginning to change their focus to the elderly. It's not a small chunk of money either.

Japanese consumers over the age of 60 spent ¥109 trillion (US/Cdn $1.4 trillion) during the year end as of March 31.
 
Aeon, a huge retail chain in Japan,  has noted that Japanese folk over 60 spent more than any other age group in the year ended March and accounted for 44 percent of Japan’s consumption.

Wow. Of course, you also have to realize that in October of 2011, the number of Japanese over the age of 65 made up 23.3 percent of Japan's total population—that's 29.8-million people per data culled by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

With the country getting older it only makes sense to streamline your goods and services for the people who will use it more.  

Aeon, for example, is adding medical offices to some of its locations - trying to become a one-stop shop for the aged mom and pop.

It's not just the product, however, that attracts the consumer - more often than not, what propels the sale is the package.

For the senior citizen who no longer has an entire family to look after, purchasing single-packs of food, or perhaps smaller packs of laundry detergent (who needs to lift such heavy things) will go a long way to determining what products will get purchased. 

In Japan, as long as the product in its package is convenient, price is not really an important factor for the senior citizen. They have money.

Now, before you run up to grandma and ask to borrow money, note that Japan's senior citizen's    spend their money on things they like. They don't really like you. You are a relative. They tolerate you.

Adult Diapers

At various grocery store outlets, there are many single, pre-cooked foods out there. I used to purchase them for my dinner all the time. It was the only way I could eat healthy Japanese food without having to spend the time and effort to make it myself... not to mention the time and effort to learn how to cook. 

These single or, perhaps for the Japanese person, double-serve food portions were a godsend for myself. Nowadays, stores and actually producing a smaller single-serve portion that is being produced specifically for the senior citizen who may not eat as much as a 20-something. 

Want more proof that Japan's red and white flag is turning grey? The Daiei supermarket chain has slowed down its escalators by 1/3 - making it easier for the (perhaps) less spry senior citizen to get on or off.

As well, Daiei has begun using shopping carts made out of aluminum because it is lighter and thus easier to push. No word on whether or not the shopping cart will still contain one wonky wheel, but you have to applaud their efforts to look after the senior shoppers and increase their sales.

Japanese seniors don't have to eat cat food!

Some Japanese retailers have even begun handing out special 'seniors cards' offering a discount with their purchases, including Daiei, Aeon and Seven-Eleven.

The Seven-Eleven one confuses me. In countries such as the U.S. and Canada, many, many retailers offer a senior citizen discount. Rather than having to present a 'loyal customer card for seniors', senior citizens in those countries just have to prove their age with a form of ID.

Hell... Toronto's transit system (the TTC), for example, has been offering cheaper rides for senior citizens for decades.

But I, again, am confused by 7-11... it's not a Japanese company... so why are they following the Japanese way of doing things? Why were they not offering a senior's discount before as a matter of policy? Why does the discount require a loyalty card? I'm just asking. I have nothing against 7-11 at all. In Japan I thoroughly enjoyed eating the triangular rice balls filled with tuna et al.

Speaking of which, 7-11 is now sending out trucks to areas in Japan that are short on retailers to sell their rice balls and sandwiches to seniors.

I am dumbstruck. I lived in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken 20 years ago. When asked to explain what life was like there I was only partially joking with my oft-repeated joke that I could throw a rock in any direction and have it hit a rice field or a 7-11. Both were everywhere! How is there a shortage of 7-11's anywhere in Japan?

And still... these trucks are driving to a particular place in a town and awaiting seniors to come up and buy food? Great... I guess 7-11 must have products seniors respect and like! They do tend to offer a lot of single-serve products, come to think of it.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph
As for that photo up above: that is Tosuka Tsutomu, 74, who won the Japan Masters Bodybuilding Championship, seniors division in 2009. Now that is grey power! 
By the way... I used to look like that (minus the grey hair, of course), until that elevator accident in 'Nam.

Japan Pension Fund Sorry For Losing Your Money

Just like out of an Eric Clapton song where a man admits to shooting a sheriff, but did not kill the deputy, the president of an investment company says he lost $1.3 billion (¥109.2 billion), but did not try and lie to his clients.

AIJ Investment Advisers president Asakawa Kazuhiko (surname first - and pictured above) says to a parliamentary panel: "I led the entirety (of the scheme).

AIJ is accused of losing the ¥109.2 billion that clients put away to fund their retirement, despite telling them investments were outperforming.

Asakawa did admit that he had given optimistic (IE inflated) figures to his clients - and that he was sorry.

This is part of the scandal that arose in February of 2012. People may have opted out of investments if they were tanking, but with the optimistic view and Asakawa's assurances, clients held the course and now do not have a pension fund.  

Obviously, aside from making more money, Asakawa did not offer an explanation about how he and AIJ might return the lost money.

While people playing with money investors know there is always a chance you could won or you could lose, you still at least hope your investment adviser is playing with fair rules. 

"I would like to apologise to all the members (of the pensions fund)," Asakawa said. "I didn't want to use inflated figures for the pensions fund, but did not want to come back with losses, no matter what. I was confident of recouping the losses."

With longevity increasing in Japan, private pension funds are key for many to help them survive the long retirement.

AIJ's operations were suspended in February of 2012 when the scandalous allegations first appeared.

Asakawa said he wanted to visit the homes of all investors and apologise, repeating that he had no intention to deceive them.

Ahh... the best laid plans of mice and Akazawa. Here's a clip from WKRP, the funniest most under-rated television comedy I have ever seen (with The Knights Of Prosperity coming in second - see who stars in it (Sofia))

According to the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, AIJ racked up ¥109.2 billion  in investment losses after accepting ¥145.8 billion in assets from pension funds.

The commission also said Asakawa is believed to have used fictitious figures when striking deals with corporate pension funds. For example, AIJ is reported to have boasted annual returns of up to 240 percent in a market where other investments struggld to break even

AIJ now has only ¥8.1 billion in cash and deposits, the commission said.

The Financial Services Agency has AIJ of its registration as an investment adviser and suspended operations of its ITM Securities for a six-month period.

Fils by Andrew Joseph

Building A Generational Rift In Japan

Just when you though things were getting better in Japan, a New York Times article from February 12, 2012 exams how a generational gap emerges as the country tries to figure out just who they are rebuilding the country for.

Check out this most excellent article relayed to myself from my good friend Matthew Hall.

STORY

Cheers
Andrew Joseph

Seniors Hang Out In Arcades

Oba-san has a winner!

Okay... I don't know which news agency posted this story first... but I did see it somewhere. Ahem.
I believe it was written by Leon Watson of Mail Online - part of the UK Daily Mail.

Once the preserve of rowdy teenagers, game arcades in Japan are rapidly becoming the hippest place to hang out for a whole new generation—their grandparents.
With plenty of time on their hands and cash in their pockets, well-behaved elderly customers make up a significant and growing number of those prepared to feed coins into machines for a few hours’ entertainment.
The so-called “silver market” is increasingly important for industries in Japan, where a plunging birth rate and a long life expectancy is leaving society increasingly top-heavy.
And for the elderly themselves, arcades offer a chance to find fun and friendship away from the more traditional pursuits of old age.
Rather than the fast-paced shoot-em-ups or the hand-to-hand combat video games their grandchildren play, older gamers are more likely to splash their cash on “medal games”, in which players drop coins into slots where they hope they will knock over other piles of coins.
Noboru Shiba, 68, said he began visiting the arcade at a shopping mall near his home in Kiba, Tokyo after he retired from his job as a taxi dispatcher seven years ago.
“I used to stay home, and just watch TV,” he said.
“I would have gone senile if I had kept on doing that. I needed to get out of the house,” he said, his eyes fixed on the jackpot of “Bing Bing Pirates”, a cross between coin-shunting and bingo.
Shiba says during his three- or four-hour visits he usually uses the piles of coins he has previously won, but has spent as much as 20,000 yen some months.
“When my grandson comes to visit, I show him my bag of coins. I drop the bag on a table and it makes a really loud ‘thud’. He gets a kick out of that,” he said.
There are no official statistics for elderly game players, who occupy a minority share of an overall 500 billion yen Japanese arcade sector, a market still dominated by teens and pre-teens.
But industry professionals all agree that the number of customers in the autumn of their lives has been steadily increasing for the past five or so years.

Old people at arcade? But I don't see no gray hair!

With around 25% of Japanese now aged 65 or over—a figure projected to rise to 40% by 2050—everything from karaoke clubs to stock brokerages are chasing the “silver yen.”
Arcades, which have the advantage of being in places like shopping malls, where elderly people go regularly, are actively chasing older gamers, especially during the school day when younger players are—or at least should be—busy.
Yuji Takano, a spokesman for Namco, the creators of Pac-Man, a game that has been a global phenomenon for 30 years, said today’s elderly have grown up around such entertainment and feel comfortable with it.
“In the 1980s, we saw an explosion of household video game consoles. Babyboomers have seen that, and they are more familiar with games than the elderly of the past,” he said.
“We are making our game arcades into places that engage a broad range of customers by using bright, pop decorations and setting up wide aisles for people to move around easily,” he said.
Some arcades have installed more comfortable chairs to cater for those who cannot cope so well with hours on hard seats.
Others have instructed their staff to do regular rounds of the parlor and talk to elderly customers to make them feel welcome.
Developers tout the possible benefits of playing their products.
“Some customers say games force them to use their fingers and think strategically. That might help keep them in good health and lessen the impact of growing old,” said Hiroyuki Tanaka, spokesman for game powerhouse Sega.
“We as a company are mulling ways to better attract the senior generation,” he said.
In some cases, arcades have become a place to meet new people.
“Here, I see people from different towns and can talk honestly about the troubles in my life without worrying about it becoming neighborhood gossip,” said Mitsuko Nishino, 63, who visits a game arcade every other day.
“I don’t think about anything when I am playing games. I am so focused, there is no stress,” she said.
“I used to play tennis. But for that, you need to ask your friends, set a time and reserve a court. It was a pain to do all that,” she said. “I can play games whenever I want and not bother with other people.”
“When my two sons were young, I always told them not to go to game arcades because they could be a bad influence. But now I come here two or three times a week and enjoy it. I talk to people. I spend the day just having fun.”

Cheers,
Andrew Joseph
PS: I apologize for the bad grammar in the second photo and the bad gramma in the first.

Japan's Oldest Dog Has His Day

Pusuke - good dog!

Dog gone it!

As a dog-owner for most of my unnatural life, this story sucks, but is also heart-warming.

Pusuke, a Shiba-mix dog died recently, passing away quietly at the age of 26-years and eight-months.

Born on April 1, 1985, Pusuke was recognized in December 2010 as the then-oldest living dog by Guinness World Records.

While still holding the record for longevity in Japan, an Australian cattle dog named Bluey that dies in 1939 was the longest lived at 29 years.

Pusuke's owner, Sinohara Yumiko, who lives in Sakura-shi, Tochigi-ken (about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) south of where I lived in Ohtawara-shi) died on December 5, 2011 after he fell ill and refused to eat.

She told FNN News Japan that: "(I) would just like to thank him for staying alive so long."

The news broadcast says that in human years, Pusuke would have been about 125-years-old. That actually makes sense and makes the old dog's age counter adage seem dated.

The old adage is that one human year equals seven dog years, doubling the first year. If that were true, Pusuke would have been 194.25-years-old. That seems ancient... even for a good, little dog like Pusuke.

Amongst the many dogs I have owned, two of my rottweillers lived to the ripe old age of 17-1/2 years. For large, massive dogs, that's pretty damn good considering the larger dogs have a shorter life span, of around 10 years.

Should you wish to calculate your dog's age, here's an on-line tool I found: DOGS.

The formula is: 10.5 dog years per one human year for the first two years, and then four dog years for each human year afterwards. 

According to it, my dogs Misty and her pup Blackjack were 83 human years-old. Of course, it puts Pusuke at 120-years of age.

Whatever... I'm glad Sinohara-san got to enjoy the company of Pusuke for a long time.

By Andrew Joseph

Bart Imitates Life

Robot seal from The Simpson, Nov. 6, 2011.

Life imitates art, to be sure.

But sometimes art imitates life. Or, in this case, Bart imitates life.

On the November 6, 2011 episode of The Simpson's entitled "Replaceable You", Bart Simpson and brainiac pal Martin Prince create a special project for the school's Science Fair. A robot in the form of a baby seal, as they correctly noted, no one can ever look at one with out going "Awwwww".

They win the Science Fair, of course, but what is cool is that at the Retirement Home where Bart's grandfather Abe Simpson resides, their robot seal pup is an instant hit, bringing emotional relief to depressed senior citizens... making them happy. 

Now... let's look back at an August 2, 2011 Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife article: HERE.

Real robot seal. Awwwwwww.

In this story, Japan is using a cuddly robotic seal pups to aid with the emotionally distraught senior citizens who have lost loved ones after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeast coast of Japan. It brings them emotional relief, making them happy.

Art imitating life.Life imitating art.

It's nice when it works out for the best. Good Simpson's episode, too.

By Andrew Joseph