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Post by Jaga on Aug 24, 2015 20:23:44 GMT -7
Japan Has So Many People Turning 100, It Can't Afford To Give Them All Gifts
Next month, Japan will observe its annual Respect For The Aged Day -- but the government will be paying its respects in a more frugal fashion, some reports say.
Since 1963, Japan has been gifting its new centenarians with a silver sakazuki, a saucer-like dish, to honor them. But when the tradition started, Japan had only 153 centenarians in total. Fast forward to today when there are more than 58,000.
While it might be something to celebrate from a national health perspective, it's costing the government a pretty penny. The commemorative gifts set Japan back by about $260 million Yen last year, or around $2 million in US dollars.
Each dish is said to cost around $65 and the government is said to be thinking of more cost effective ways to celebrate the milestone -- either by using a cheaper material for the dishes or simply by providing the celebrating 100-year-olds with a congratulatory letter.
Seniors make up a significant portions of Japan's population. According to the latest estimates from Statistics Japan, over a quarter of the population is over the age of 65 and nearly 13 percent are over 75. Japan has the highest life expectancy for women in the world, at 87, and falls in the top 10 for men, at 80. While it might be disappointing to those turning 100, in the long run, the change in gifts might be a good idea for the government. A UN projection estimates that by 2050, Japan will have around 1 million centenarians.
This is hardly surprising in a nation that is home to one of the world's few blue zones, or areas where an unusual proportion of people live past 100. The plant-based diets and active lifestyles of people in Okinawa, Japan are said to be the key to their long lives.
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Post by Nictoshek on Aug 25, 2015 11:00:32 GMT -7
They can also thank The American Caesar. MacArthur's ChildrenReview Summary The title of MacArthur's Children refers to the generation growing up in Japan since the end of World War II. A tiny Japanese island serves as a microcosm for the events in the mainland during the time of VE Day. Young Takaya Yamauchi is a war orphan whose best friend, Yoshikuri Omori, refuses to acknowledge the defeat of the Rising Sun. Another friend, Shiori Sakura, is the son of a Japanese admiral who has "lost face" by exhibiting mercy towards the hated British. Confused by the loss of the only world that they know, and resentful of the government's attempts to impose revisionism on all they've ever learned, the kids in the film plan to vent their wrath on the incoming American occupying forces. Once the Americans have arrived, the children are in for yet another culture shock: far from being the murderous monsters they've been conditioned to expect, the troops intend to honor General Douglas MacArthur's edict that the defeated Japanese be treated with dignity and compassion. MacArthur's Children was written and directed by two of those titular children, Takeshi Tamura (writer) and Masahiro Shinoda (director); the film was adapted from the Japanese best-seller by Yu Aku. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi Promoting Health During the American Occupation of Japan_
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Post by karl on Aug 25, 2015 11:58:29 GMT -7
Jaga
An interesting situation of many factions. What we wish for with our technology, new advances in medicine and diet guidelines, has increased the life span of so many people as to seemly out pace our retirement systems that were designed so many years in past.
It would so appear, Japan has also this problem. It simply is not a case of drawing a line at a certain age, and then those people are no longer to grow old. For we all will in time, reach such an age, or at least we do have hopes this will be so.
Then, there is the genetic situation. Remember in science class, to study the human body cell mitosis? For ever seven years, our body has regenerated a complete cell exchange. It seems as nature has designed into our genetics, a time limit of regeneration, when this has expired, so goes our selves and we die. It is not a pleasant thought, for in the process of dying, the organs go through a process of deteriation with disposal through the unary system as black blood like fluid. This then will continue through the process of deteriation until the body no longer is able to function until one system or another fails and then the process of dying complets into the final stages of shut down into unconsciences with the end in a complete shut down of body functioning.
But then, we as people would rather speak openly of life rather then death.
Karl
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Post by karl on Aug 25, 2015 12:17:15 GMT -7
Nictoe
The body of your reply gave myself plenty of rememeberances of my own experiences with two occupational forces upon our land {Denmark}, and then to translate these memories into your experience with two vastly different occupational forces of war time and post war occupation. For both were forced occupations being from the German military overcome of your nation with complesity of the Soviet forces then to take over in the post war years.
I was curios of your reaction as a young man growing up in those times. My self, we simply adjusted and used the resources of both militaries in trade of what they considered as luxuries for what we needed as necessities. Was this the case with your family as with mine?
As with most likely your experience, ours was not boot stumping and shooting, but we did have the instances of panzers in sensitive areas as would be expected in most occupational situations.
For not to compare, but to better relate, I have been curious of yours and your family situation in these occupational years with the Soviet Russians and for us, was the British occupational enforcement.
There was a couple of years in my late teens whilst living in Cuxhaven, I become very militant against the Americans. Simply hated them for being in the here/there. But, as I matured and with the British occupational forces, although strict, they were not with out compassion, for beneath their stern looks, was a soft spot of humanity that I have always admired.
I was curious as to your experience and reaction.
Karl
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Post by Jaga on Aug 25, 2015 12:24:56 GMT -7
Nictoe, we were not aware in Poland about so much of Japanese-American culture clash. Interesting perspective about MacArthur's Children and loss of face by being merciful. Japanese yet need to apologize for their war crimes to other nations.
fascinating piece about young Japanese doctors who were able to shake their anti-american feelings and then they helped the rest of the Japanese society.
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Post by Nictoshek on Aug 25, 2015 14:29:31 GMT -7
Thanks for your interest Karl. While growing up in 1960's Poland, the country was basically an enforced barracks style society imposed by the puppet entrenched communist regime. One didn't really notice it much in the country side where I lived, but in the large urban areas, the military was very much evident, especially at train stations and government buildings. However even in rural areas, party officials paid visits to insure that small farmers were in compliance with agricultural socialist policies. Granted that there was some improvement after Stalin, such as relaxed religious worship, one still had to choose one's words wisely so as not to stir the ire of the great leviathan from the east.
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Post by karl on Aug 25, 2015 18:01:38 GMT -7
Thank you Nictoe
I am interested in experiences of others such as you self whilst growing up under the Soviet rule. For in the so called cold war years, I was never allowed to enter or even come close to the border into East Germany. Pieter had the good fortune to cross over with his family to visit relatives in Poland.
I would only suppose as a person, we need to know what we are not supposed to find out.
Karl
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Post by Jaga on Aug 28, 2015 17:20:08 GMT -7
Karl, it was always fascinating to me how is it that we are getting still older in spite of the total exchange of the cells. I guess, the experiment on the first cloned sheep was explaining what was going on. Jaga Then, there is the genetic situation. Remember in science class, to study the human body cell mitosis? For ever seven years, our body has regenerated a complete cell exchange. It seems as nature has designed into our genetics, a time limit of regeneration, when this has expired, so goes our selves and we die. It is not a pleasant thought, for in the process of dying, the organs go through a process of deteriation with disposal through the unary system as black blood like fluid. This then will continue through the process of deteriation until the body no longer is able to function until one system or another fails and then the process of dying complets into the final stages of shut down into unconsciences with the end in a complete shut down of body functioning. But then, we as people would rather speak openly of life rather then death. Karl
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Post by Jaga on Aug 28, 2015 17:24:04 GMT -7
Guys, I talked to my second cousin, Teresa, when I was in Poland. We try to see each other but we couldn't this time. She told me that her father in law is 107 years old. I never met him since they live in a different town. Still, I had to look at the Wikipedia and yes, I found him: look at: pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_najstarszych_ludzi_w_PolsceHe is there as Jan Rzeźniewski Originally the last name of my cousin's husband was Rzeznik, that means "butcher", but they wanted to soften the last name, so they changed it into Rzewniewski maybe 15-20 years ago. My cousin Teresa, does not talk about her father in law too much except that he had a good and not terribly busy, exhausting life.
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Post by Jaga on Aug 28, 2015 17:26:18 GMT -7
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Post by karl on Aug 28, 2015 18:51:27 GMT -7
Jaga
Genitics was not my area of education, although it would have been interesting. Your cousin Teresa,s father in law, Mr. Jan Rzeźniewski, he certainly looks good for 107 years, it is most certain he has seen so much and many changes of our world with his years. It is imaginable of his seeing so many things that were good with some things not so good in his life time. One of the gifts of long life.
Karl
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Post by Jaga on Aug 29, 2015 17:01:46 GMT -7
Jaga Genitics was not my area of education, although it would have been interesting. Your cousin Teresa,s father in law, Mr. Jan Rzeźniewski, he certainly looks good for 107 years, it is most certain he has seen so much and many changes of our world with his years. It is imaginable of his seeing so many things that were good with some things not so good in his life time. One of the gifts of long life. Karl Karl, it is a good sign that people look good even when they are over 100 years old. I wish I knew him better, hope he would have a good life ahead.
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