Essay
Gallery
Aging Society
by Kaori Hasui
In this essay I present my research on aging society. I'm interested in our aging society because as the medical science and hygiene developed, we can live longer than in the old days. So, I should know about the aging society in order to provide for my old age. I'm going to cover two main points. I want to explore the rate of aging people, and I want to find out how much money we will have to pay for the National pension in the future. First I will show you in 2050, the proportion of the aged will be 32.3 percent, then I will demonstrate that our National pension is different depending upon what kind of job we will choose.
What are the causes of aging society? I think aging society is caused by the development of medical technology, better diet and healthier lifestyles and a fall in reproduction. The effects are that makes us happy. For example, my family, friends, and myself can live longer. Nevertheless, we will have to pay a lot more for our National pension than we do now.
I think aging society is similar to a decline in the infant mortality because in both cases medical technology has developed and we can eat fully. So we live in a world which is blessed with an improved environment. However aging society is different from a decline in the infant population due to mortality because women had had a lot of children in the old days, but women living now go out into society and work, so they are not having so many children.
What will the proportion of aged people be in the future? I will show you in 2050, the old people will number 32,450,000 out of the total population size of 100,490,000. I think it's dangerous. The more the rate of old people increases, the less the total population size is. I think if we leave this situation as it is, the young will not be able to support old people. According to Kachijiten website, the average life span of Japanese is getting longer. In 2005, the proportion of the aged will be 19.6 percent. People over 65 will number 18,270,000 out of the total population size of 125,570,000. In 2015, the proportion will be 25.2 percent. The old people will number 31,880,000 out of the total population size of 126,440,000. In 2050, the proportion will be 32.3 percent. The old people will number 32,450,000 out of the total population size of 100,490,000.
I have shown in 2050, the proportion of the aged will be 32.3 percent, now I will demonstrate that the National pension is different depending upon what kind of job we will choose. How much will we have to pay for the National pension in the future? I don't know exactly. It's different depending upon what kind of job we will choose. However, according to Kachijiten website, in 2005, one old person will be supported by four young people. In 2015, one old person will be supported by three young people. In 2050, one old person will be supported by two young people including babies. It's impossible. If you retire by sixty and live to be eighty, you need living expenses of 300,000 yen per month. So, you will need 72,000,000 yen. I think it's too hard because we have to pay for both living expenses and savings from a salary.
In brief I have shown in 2050, the proportion of the aged will be 32.3 percent, our National pension is different depending upon what kind of job we will choose. The main beneficiaries are some young people in the future and old people in the old days. The victims will be us and children of the next generation. To summarize, young people in the future will have to pay more for their National pension than we do now, but on the other hand they will find it easier to enter school because of a trend towards having fewer children. We can describe these circumstances in different words "Every cloud has a silver lining." The situation might improve if the government manages the national budget cleverly and makes a strong system of National pension guarantee. Then, all of the nation would pay for the National pension. However the situation might deteriorate if the nation won't pay more for the National pension than now, furthermore a trend towards having fewer children will be getting more serious. Despite the fact that the government is planning to increase the number of children, I think the number of children will become fewer after all. So, it will be an important problem that a lot of old people will need to be satisfied by limited money.
Bibliography of References
Kachijiten website http://www.kachijiten.com/kachi/kachi1/aging.htm 2004/06/08
