I saw a commercial for a Panasonic toilet on TV this evening. Why is this remarkable, you may well ask.
The commercial was for a toilet that cleanses and sanitizes with each flush. Again, what's so remarkable?
Nothing so remarkable about that, but the subtle part was that the toilet has handles.
Without coming right out and saying it the underlying message is that Japan's population truly is aging and by seeing this sort of handles arrangement in an everyday commercial the subliminal message is there - your next toilet should have handles because you're getting old!
Today, being Sunday, we went for a hike to one of the places we go once or twice a year; Nishizawa Keikoku (Valley) in Yamanashi.
As we hiked up the trail and climbed up the rocks and even the wooden steps that the prefecture has built into the trail, the pace was set by a large group of people in front of us. Yep, you guessed it, all people in their late 60s or early 70s (actually, I rather liked the pace, but it is a bit slower than even we early 60-somethings typically do on our hikes).
Japan is not the only country with an aging population of course, but Japan's seniors do seem to be a very active lot.
Yet, when it comes to work, Japanese companies still don't seem to have grasped the fact that the 55+ crowd is still a very productive group of people. Just try finding a job if you're in your 50s - nearly impossible; in your 60s - even more so. In fact, even for many in their 40s the job market remains closed. I've met dozens of people over the last 5 years who are in this age range (40+) and believe me, more companies reject them because of age than one would find believable. What a shame - so much talent just going to waste - and even though there are labor laws that make age discrimination illegal; well, good luck!
Discriminating against someone on the basis of age (esp. someone in their 40s) is ludicrous! I guess Japanese companies have always preferred to have people that they can mould early on in life, but that approach suited a different era I suspect.
Posted by: Dom | October 25, 2010 at 07:56 AM