Compare and Contrast (Singapore and Japan)

Both Singapore and Japan face a growing challenge in their ageing population. In fact, both countries’ old age support ratio of 5.1 and 1.3 is alarming. The demographics for the elderly between Singapore and Japan is largely similar, with a little difference in some aspects.

Firstly, the elderly in both Singapore and Japan struggle financially. Most of the time, it is due to the hospital bills and daily expenses, especially when they have retired and no longer earn an income. Of course, both governments implemented policies and initiatives to help these elderlies cope with their living expenses, which to a certain extent helped the elderly financially.

Secondly, there is a significant number of elderly suicide cases in both countries. However, the reasons behind these suicide cases are largely different. In Singapore, elderly who committed suicide were lonely. They faced social isolation because their family stopped visiting them for a long time and they weren’t under any care. These elderlies lived in poor conditions which led to low self-awareness to their surroundings. Hence, in this fast-paced society, these elderlies felt lonelier day by day until they decided to end their misery of being forgotten. Whereas in Japan, most elderly suicide cases were not because they were alone. It was due to the stress they brought upon themselves while trying to earn an income and take care of their dementia-stricken family member at the same time. This greatly pushed them to the brink until they decided to kill their family member and themselves.

Thirdly, on the topic of dementia in Japan, dementia is the most pressing issue that the elderlies in Japan face. It was estimated that 1 in 5 elderlies in Japan would suffer from dementia by 2025, that accounts for about 7.3 million elderlies. This is where Singapore is different. The elderlies in Singapore feel that they lack control over their lives. Having spent their years working non-stop to build Singapore’s economy, these elderlies felt helpless after retiring. In fact, they didn’t stop working. They still work part-time jobs such as cleaners, which is evident in our society today. The lack of control over their finances, emotional and physical needs for social interaction and mobility remains an issue in Singapore’s context.

Interestingly, Japan does not have a strong social enterprise scene considering how innovative they are in technology. However, the Japanese took the initiative to set up small businesses that assist caretakers in coping with the stress, not knowing that it is a social enterprise. Japan has more government initiatives and policies than social enterprises or charities that provides subsidies for the elderly. Whereas Singapore has quite a strong social enterprise scene and has a few of them like ProAge and Care Wheeler, that provides subsidies to alleviate the financial burdens on the elderly and their families. Overall, Singapore has a better balance of responsibilities split between the government, organisations, social enterprises and charities.

In conclusion, Japan has a strong culture of family taking care of the old which explains why most caretakers are the spouse or the children. Meanwhile, Singapore focuses on building the economy, leaving Singaporeans to hire domestic workers to tend to their old parents.