Senior Citizens

Some societal things are just different.  For instance, in America how do you know that the car in front of you is driven by an elderly person? (Must....resist...jokes....) If the actual driving doesn't give you a hint, you might notice a blue tag hanging from their rear-view mirror.  If you get a good look at that tag, you'll see a white symbol that represents a person in a wheelchair.  Not all elderly people are handicapped though, so the tag isn't a sure sign.

In Japan, elderly people are required to put a special teardrop shaped sticker on their rear bumper or window.  The  sticker is half yellow-orange and half orange.  I recently read in the news that the government is introducing four-leaf clover stickers to replace the old autumn leaf stickers.  Why?  Because many elderly people have complained that the autumn leaf stickers look like dead leaves, which seems like a crass thing to require an elderly person to plaster to their car.

In less amusing news, the Japanese government is trying to check on the many centenarians that they have lost contact with.  The impetus behind this search is summarized in the article above, but I'll give you my short version.  Someone in Tokyo was checking the records and there was a man who should be the oldest man alive residing in Tokyo.   No one had heard from him in decades.  He was supposed to be living with one of his children, so a government official went to check on him.  It turns out the man had been dead for over 30 years.  Dead, and still in his bed.  It is one of the more bizarre stories I've read.  The family had never reported the death...and had continued to collect pension checks.

Now the government is trying to check up on its oldest citizens.

Another sad piece of this story is that many of these older people have slipped through the cracks because the elderly are isolated.  Since World War II, fewer and fewer elderly people are living with their children.  As they age, some people lose touch with society and no one knows how they are or if they are even still alive.

To combat this loneliness, I read of some people forming community groups with end-of-life matters in mind.  People who are aging and have no family are getting together and talking about death and helping each other when the time comes.  It seemed strange when I read about a few months ago, but in light of these other facts, it seems like a good idea.  One of the strengths of Japanese society is the emphasis they place on community.

This post is a little bit heavier reading, but I think it is enriching to read about how other cultures deal with difficult issues like death and aging.  And if it wasn't, at least it was interesting.

Hopefully the four-leaf-clovers are better luck than autumn leaves.