A Helping Hand: In Japan and India, two women navigate life's transitions

• Author: Peter Langan - Reema Nanavaty
• Position: Freelance journalist based in Tokyo. He was formerly Tokyo bureau chief for Bloomberg News - Director of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), in Ahmedabad, India
• Pages: 35-37

December 2018 | FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT 35

PHOTO: DE AN MIT CHELL ; PHOTO : ISTOC K / JAMI ELAWT ON

A Helping Hand

In Japan and India, two women navigate life’s transitions

Peter Langan, Reema Nanavaty

Social protection comes in various forms. In Japan, an advanced economy, retirees like Toshiko

Taniuchi will make up two-fifths of the population by mid-century. anks to her government

pension and help from her family, she remains active and independent. In youthful India, by

contrast, most workers labor in the informal sector, without state-provided social protection. Jetunbibi

Shirajbhi Seikh’s family was having trouble making ends meet until she joined an association of self-

employed women, which helped her start a business. As these two women’s stories show, social protec-

tion not only shields individuals from the vagaries of life, but it helps them fulfill their potential, to the

benefit of families, communities, and society.

Keeping active in Japan

Toshiko Taniuchi participated in Japan’s post–World

War II economic miracle, as a growing population

helped fuel a rapid expansion in output. She ran a shop

in Tokyo while raising three children. Today, Taniuchi

is retired, and the trend has reversed. An aging and

shrinking population is weighing on economic growth.

Taniuchi, now 79 years old, has lived with her

son and his family since her husband’s death sev-

eral years ago. She worries about being a burden

on her family, so she strives to stay fit and healthy.

“I exercise and keep active to tr y not to cause my

children too much trouble,” she says. She also visits

a physical therapist to recover from a back opera-

tion. “Luckily there’s a bus that stops a 10-minute

walk away from the rehabilitat ion center, and th at

short walk helps me stay fit.”

Taniuchi keeps to a strict schedule, star ting her

day with exercises from a radio program at 6:30

a.m. She goes to karaoke three times a month,

calligraphy on the fir st Saturday of every month,

drawing on the third Tuesday, and ground golf—a

type of croquet—once a week. en t here are

community events, like loc al disaster d rills and

neighborhood cleanup drives.

“I try to do these things and exercise to avoid

getting dementia,” she says. “I make sure I’m doing

different things instead of sitting watching T V,

cleanin g, and doing laundry.”

Japan famously has t he world’s oldest population,

with people 65 and older accounting for about 27

percent of its 127 million people, according to

government estimates, up from 9 percent in 1980.

e proportion of elderly people is forecast to rise

almost to 40 percent by 2050.

e demographic shift is putting pressure on Japan

to improve productivity and expand the labor force,

which could be done by bringing in more women

and older workers. at would require eliminat-

ing disincentives to full-time and regular work and

AGE OF INSECURITY