In 2016, Japan's NHK Television produced a documentary, "Bankruptcy after the Old Man", which brought together the real life conditions of more than a dozen elderly Japanese people.
It uses the theme of "money" to expose the reality of the "clump generation" after entering retirement life: even if they desperately earn money when they are young, save pensions, get married and have children, "raise children and prevent old age", they still go bankrupt step by step.
Today, the documentary has not only published books in previous years, but also "bankruptcy after old age" has become a realistic topic that Japan cannot avoid under any circumstances.
First, explain to you what the "clump generation" is.
After World War II, Japan ushered in the baby boom period, during which a total of about 10 million people were born, accounting for nearly 10% of the country's total population, and their growth promoted the development of post-war society and became the backbone of Japan's rapid economic growth.
Therefore, the clump generation that built the middle class era of the whole people is always considered to be the economically prosperous generation, but according to the Japanese Cabinet Office survey, the clump generation that is ushering in the late years is facing a grim reality: they are in a dilemma of imminent bankruptcy.
So the question is, there is a house, there is a deposit, there is a pension, how can it still go bankrupt when you are old?
At the time of the documentary, the Clump Generation was between the ages of 65 and 69 and was entering the ranks of the elderly.
However, their parents are the longest-lived generation in Japan and even in the world, so although the people of the clump generation are old, they still need to support the elderly, and on the other hand, their children are suffering from the impact of "middle-aged unemployment".
Therefore, even if the generations of old and young people have entered old age, they must shoulder two responsibilities, sandwiched in the middle and work hard, and the family fun of "parents are complete, children and grandchildren are on their knees" has become the ultimate shackle that drags them down.
What is even more sad is that every old man in the documentary, when he was young, worked as hard as you and me, and made a savings plan after retirement, but when asked about his current life, they all said with emotion: "I never thought that I would live like this when I was old." ”
Kawaguchi, who grew up in Fukuoka, is 69 years old, and as soon as he graduated from high school, he responded to the Japanese government's call for "collective employment" from his hometown to work in a big city.
After coming to Tokyo, Kawaguchi worked for a large transportation company, from driver to sales, and soon after getting married in his 20s, he had children, earning more than 10 million yen (560,000 yuan) a year.
Because he often worked overtime and neglected his family, at the age of 43, Hekou divorced, and he simply quit his regular job, usually did some scattered part-time jobs, lived a life where one person fed the whole family without hunger, and although his life was tight, he could not save any money.
In front of the camera, Kawaguchi said: "At that time, I never thought that old age would be so difficult, and the current situation is very different from what I imagined when I was forty or fifty years old." ”
When it comes to children, Kawaguchi is also helpless, the 39-year-old son is still looking for a job, the father and son will only talk on the phone once every two months, and they can't talk a few words before they hang up in a hurry.
Kawaguchi's 97-year-old mother, Yezi, lives alone in a nursing home in Yokohama, and her mother's pension is only enough to barely cover the cost of the nursing home, although she wants to give her mother some living expenses to improve her diet, but Kawaguchi is really powerless.
At this stage, Kawaguchi can receive a pension of 140,000 yen per month, but this money is left after paying for fixed expenses such as rent, water and electricity, and living expenses.
After calculating, the monthly pension is not only spent, but also 9,000 yen more holes, but the problem is that the estuary has almost no savings to cover, in order to survive, he can only find a new job.
This is also the current situation faced by many clump generations, who have not been able to save enough during their tenure and have to work when they are old.
As early as the age of 65 in Kawaguchi, he found a part-time job as a hospital driver, with an hourly salary of 1,000 yen.
Every month, when it was his turn to take a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Yokohama to visit his mother, it cost about 5,000 yen per trip, which was a big burden for him.
This month, a bottle of drink and pickled plums totaled 600 yen, the only gift Kawaguchi could bring to his mother, and Kawaguchi's eyes were full of guilt when he saw his mother happy like a child.
He knew that his mother wanted to come a few more times a month, but the current conditions were really not allowed, and he could still do the job for a year and a half at most, and he didn't know what to do after that.
According to statistics, 67% of the clump generation cannot live on pensions like Hekou and continue to work in the near future.
It is hard to imagine that a situation like Kawaguchi that only takes care of oneself is a blessing in disguise, and many families have to take care of not only their parents, but also their children.
The survey found that 3.08 million people in the 10 million clump generation live in the same house, of which 620,000 are unemployed and 510,000 are non-regular workers.
The Shinmi couple living in Saitama Prefecture is one of the most representative families, and the old couple not only have to take care of their mother, but also their sons and grandchildren who live together at home.
Husband Yoshiharu and wife Keiko are both 67 years old, and Keiko's pension, combined with Yoshiharu's current salary, earns 370,000 yen a month.
Keiko said that when they were young, they were typically middle-class families, working hard, living in high-end neighborhoods, owning their own private cars, and taking their two sons on weekends to travel with the whole family...
As soon as the children grew up, they formed their own families, and Yoshiharu and his wife lived with Keiko's 89-year-old mother, who thought her old age would continue to be so peaceful and peaceful.
Until the death of his daughter-in-law three years ago, his 36-year-old son Si Jin chose to take his two grandchildren to live with the old couple.
In this way, the life of the original three people became six with the arrival of their sons and grandchildren, and Yoshiharu and Keiko also changed from taking care of only one mother to taking care of their mother, son, and two grandchildren, a total of four people.
Since Si Jin has no stable income at this stage, Ji Chun's old family not only has to give him living expenses, but even the expenses of the two grandchildren are also responsible for it, cooking and washing, and everything is in detail.
More heavy is to take care of Keiko's 89-year-old mother Aixiang, as she grows older, Aixiang's Alzheimer's disease becomes more and more serious, and life gradually cannot take care of herself, not only that, Aixiang also suffers from heart disease, and must take 11 drugs every day.
Every week, Keiko sends her mother to a day care center for 4 days, medical expenses and nursing fees cost 32,000 yen per month after the price increase, Cute Kao's pension is only less than 30,000, and the extra part plus living expenses can only be taken care of by Yoshiharu's elderly family.
The biggest burden is the pressure of loans to expand the housing, with a monthly repayment of 99,000 yen, which is repaid for 13 years.
In addition, the arrival of children, the burden of living expenses also increased, the two grandchildren are when the body is long, 10 kilograms of rice can only eat 10 days, no matter how to save, the monthly food cost is also 150,000 yen, not only that, the monthly fixed expenses such as water, electricity and gas costs are also 50,000 yen...
When he was in his 40s, Ji Chun was laid off because of the bursting of the bubble economy, and he had no pension and could only choose to go to the funeral home to engage in venue decoration work, but no matter how hard he tried, he felt inadequate, especially this year, after a full class, he always felt that his body was about to fall apart.
But for the sake of the family, even the oldest people have to continue to work.
However, Ji Chun's current salary is only a drop in the bucket, with the income unchanged, the expenditure is getting bigger and bigger, the monthly deficit is about 100,000 yen, Ji Chun's savings are now 2 million yen, according to the current overrun rate, this money will be spent in two years.
Dwindling savings also made Keiko abandon her 10-year bookkeeping habit:
"I always thought that there would be a road before the car reached the mountain, but the reality was not like this, I could only close my eyes and choose to escape."
It seems that the rich family has long been in turmoil, knowing that the bankruptcy of the elderly has quietly approached, but there is no one else to rely on, the reality is so, no matter how anxious it is, it will not help.
What is even more desperate is that this bankruptcy atmosphere seems to have laid out a net in advance, leaving no mercy for the clump generation, even those who have more than 20 million deposits, there is a risk of bankruptcy in old age.
After his wife died six years ago, the 68-year-old Masaji Aoyama took care of his 91-year-old mother alone, because the old man's waist and legs were inconvenient, and he usually had to take care of Aoyama in everything he ate and dressed.
Who would have thought that such a simple uncle would have a considerable deposit.
When he was young, Aoyama had been working hard, and usually poured out some small businesses, but he had saved up 20 million yen in savings, and he also thought that this money was enough for his pension...
But in fact, Aoyama and his mother's life is very poor.
Now, Aoyama will receive a pension of 80,000 yen every month, but in life, he can only eat with his mother, the daily food fee for two people is controlled at 500 yen, the refrigerator is empty, basically do not buy expensive dishes, and a box of small dishes of several hundred yuan must be eaten in two or three meals.
With 20 million yuan in savings, he is still so poor, and Aoyama also explains that behind this contradiction.
Most of the fathers of the Clump Generation were farmers or small businessmen, and many of them did not even have pensions because they could not afford to pay insurance, and Aoyama's mother was one of them.
In order to make her mother better care, Aoyama will ask for half an hour of nursing treatment every day to wash and massage her mother, plus twice a week day care, and spend 22,000 yen on her mother every month, which is still due to the fear that the deposit will be used too quickly and the nursing service will be reduced twice.
No matter how much money is saved, it costs 150,000 yen a month, and compared with the 80,000 yen pension, Aoyama can only live with his mother on the basis of savings, a total of 5 years of nursing care, and now has spent 4 million yen.
Aoyama did not think of going out to work to subsidize the family, but the 91-year-old mother suffered from severe Alzheimer's disease, and could not do without people, once ran out many times without paying attention, and then could not find a home, he could only look at her all the time.
Who would have thought that "longevity," a symbol of a happy society, would become the biggest nightmare of a generation in Japan.
In Aoyama's view, "taking care of the mother" has become a part of life, and although there is no end to this nursing life, it will still accompany the mother until the last moment.
After being asked, "What if after the deposit is used up, I can't take care of my mother at all?" ”
It can be seen that Aoyama has been thinking about this problem for many years, and he calmly said to reporters, "Maybe choose suicide."
Aoyama's answer is also the way back for many old people in the documentary to think of themselves.
At the expense of their old age, they must also strive to ensure the life of the whole family, which will force the clump generation to the brink of old age bankruptcy.
As the researchers put it, once the "old-aged bankruptcy" spreads through a 10 million-person-sized clump generation, it will have an impact on both the previous and the next.
While the aging of the population has become a worldwide problem, the "bankruptcy of the old and the old" not only affects the elderly over the age of 65, if you do not look for a solution, no matter how old you are now, you may become the reserve army of the "old and the bankrupt".