In Japan, pornography is no longer the exclusive domain of young people. On the contrary, more and more middle-aged and elderly people are involved, both as practitioners and consumers.
Adult film actress Maori Teizuka has been in the industry for 10 years and is a celebrity in the industry. She retired at the age of 80 and is a legend in the industry.
At the same time, the 88-year-old male Yu Tokuda Shigeo, also known as the "oldest active male actor", is still sticking to his job. Yuko Ogasawara, who entered the sex industry at the age of 80, also regards her career as a third life.
Not only that, there are many clubs and places dedicated to the elderly, such as "Mature Women's House", "Evening Water Moon", "Autumn Leaves", etc., and the practitioners are mostly between 50 and 75 years old.
According to industry insiders, the annual sales of Japan's industry can reach $20 billion, of which pornographic films specifically aimed at the elderly account for more than a quarter of the entire market.
This "silver pornography" is getting bigger and bigger, and more and more middle-aged and elderly people are involved in it, and it has gradually become a mainstream trend.
Although this phenomenon may seem difficult for ordinary people to accept, for the elderly in Japan, it is a way for them to choose freely. At the same time, it also reflects the reality of aging Japanese society.
Over the years, reports of elderly Japanese people engaging in sexual services have attracted widespread attention. However, in fact, as early as ten years ago, the Japanese police investigated an elderly prostitution club, whose members were almost all elderly and about 1,000 men.
The average age is around 65, while there are about 350 women, and the average age is around 60, including even 82-year-old women. In the same year, in Tokyo, the Japanese capital, the police cracked a spring selling station with 16 prostitutes with an average age of 63, the oldest of whom was 73 years old.
The main reason these elderly people engage in sex services is because they cannot survive, and many are still receiving pensions and subsistence allowances. Even so, they still chose to engage in this profession, knowing the law and breaking the law in order to survive, and living an unbearable life.
In fact, it is not only sex services, but many elderly people also work in other industries to make a living. For example, a 75-year-old guard who is still in charge of directing traffic needs to stand more than 10 hours a day because he can't live on his pension alone, so he plans to work until he is 80 years old. He is 74 years old and still working as a caregiver.
The working hours have also reached 10 hours, about five days a week, sometimes requiring overnight stays. Even some elderly people do not hesitate to commit repeated crimes in order to feed themselves and are determined to go to prison to retire.
These people are all retired elderly people in the legal sense, but in order to live, they also have to go to "re-employment".
Even if they are gray-haired, they need to serve plates and open rents until the last moment of their lives. Among them, many have children and daughters, and those who hold pensions, but they still cannot avoid the fate of bankruptcy in old age.
Such a phenomenon is not uncommon in Japan, and it is one of the real problems faced by other countries. Seniors need to face the pressure of life after retirement, and the amount of pension does not meet their living needs.
For society, policies should be actively introduced to ensure the living standards of the elderly, as well as to strengthen the medical security and social welfare of the elderly. At the same time, it is also necessary to improve the concept of self-management and savings of the elderly, so as to reduce the burden on society
According to demographic estimates released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in September 2022, as Japanese society continues to age, the elderly population aged 65 and over has reached 36.27 million, accounting for 29% of Japan's total population.
The elderly population aged 80 and over exceeded 10 million for the first time in 2015, which means that one in three Japanese is over 65 years old.
Despite the growing elderly population, many vacant jobs in Japanese society still need to be filled. For this reason, the elderly can be found everywhere in various industries such as airports, convenience stores, grocery stores, taxis, and trucks in Japan.
According to official Japanese statistics, the employment rate of the elderly over 70 years old in Japan has reached 45.7% and 29.4%, of which nearly half are men and nearly 30% are women. More than 45 percent of security guards are aged 60 and over, while the average age of taxi drivers is over 60, with nearly half of them aged 65 and over. These data show that many older people have to continue working to make ends meet.
However, many people are envious of Japan's high welfare system, but they are unaware of the hardships behind it. Even as the elderly reach retirement age, many still have to rely on odd jobs to make ends meet, a figure of 7.89 million, more than the entire population of Hong Kong.
Because the elderly cannot afford to work a high load, occupations such as security and cleaning have become their main choices. According to the statistics of a property company in Tokyo, more than half of the company's employees are 65 years old and older, and even if the salary conditions offered are not high, there are still many elderly people who are enthusiastic about these jobs.
Although the fatigue brought by work worries many elderly people, they are more worried about their physical health. If the day comes when the legs and feet are inconvenient, not only will you lose the ability to work, but you will also face the torment of illness. For this reason, some elderly people, when unable to work, even take the initiative to commit crimes in the hope of spending the rest of their lives in prison. Japanese statistics show that criminals aged 60 and over account for about 20 percent of the country's prison population, and many of them are imprisoned 6 to 7 times.
Although the employment rate of the elderly in Japan is as high as 45.7% and 29.4%, this does not mean that they will be able to earn enough income to make ends meet. In fact, many older people earn very low wages and can barely maintain a basic standard of living.
For these seniors, retirement is not a pleasant thing, but a reality that must be faced in life. They need to work odd jobs to support themselves because they can't rely on pensions or Social Security to support themselves.
In addition, with the increasing elderly population in Japan, many elderly people are also facing physical problems. Physical discomfort has even prevented some elderly people from doing any work. They need to undergo regular medical check-ups and need to take medication regularly to maintain their health.
Although the elderly play an important role in the Japanese economy, this group also faces great challenges in life. Many older people work long hours to be able to make ends meet, but this can also have a serious impact on their health and health.
In Japan, as society changes, more and more elderly people are actively exploring new lifestyles to better adapt to the era of longevity.
Many elderly people choose to work in some simple part-time jobs, such as supermarket salesman, convenience store cashier, cleaner, etc. These jobs are relatively simple, do not require too high skills and physical strength, and the working hours and work intensity are relatively flexible, which can be adjusted according to the physical condition of the elderly.
In addition, there are employment opportunities specifically for the elderly, such as childcare services for families, services for tourism, etc. While older people going out to work can help them make ends meet, there are some problems. For example, some older people may have difficulty finding suitable jobs due to poor physical condition or lack of skills, while some jobs may have a negative impact on their health.
In addition, because seniors are less competitive in the job market, their wages may also be relatively low, which may also lead to a decline in their quality of life.
Others choose to actively participate in volunteer activities to find their value and meaning by helping the community and others in need.
In addition, Japan's "career extension" system also provides job opportunities for some elderly people. This system allows companies to postpone the retirement of retired employees for a certain period of time so that they can continue to work.
In addition to these positive countermeasures, the government is also actively exploring better responses.
For example, the Japanese government has begun promoting "second career education" programs to help older people learn new skills and knowledge to adapt to different career needs.
In addition, the government is also studying how to improve the standard of pension payment to help the elderly better cope with the pressure of life.
Although Japan is ahead of other countries in coping with aging, it still needs to continue to explore better solutions.
This requires not only the efforts of the government and enterprises, but also the joint efforts of the whole society. Only through the joint efforts of the whole society can we better cope with the challenges brought by aging and enable every elderly person to live a happier and dignified life.
At the same time, society also needs to strengthen its care and support for the elderly. All sectors of society should actively participate in the service and care of the elderly, so that the elderly can feel the warmth and concern of the society. Families should also do their best to support and take care of the lives of the elderly, and give them more love and companionship.
Most importantly, society needs to establish a sense of respect for the elderly, not only in words, but also in practical actions. Only when the overall values of society develop in the direction of respecting the elderly can the problems faced by the elderly be truly solved and let them live a happy life in their old age.