EMBASSY
WE’RE NEXT, SAYS JAPAN
Japan and the Philippines are expanding healthcare cooperation on elderly care, as the Philippines prepares for an aging population.
Japan is already thinking about the Philippines getting old.
Japanese health officials met with Department of Health recently and one of the things they came to talk about was what we’re going to do when there are a lot more old Filipinos around.
Japan has some experience here.
Almost three out of every 10 Japanese are 65 or older.
That’s a lot of old people who need doctors, medicine and, eventually, somebody to help take care of them.
Now look at us.
We still have plenty of young people. So when somebody gets old, usually the family handles it. A daughter buys the medicine. Somebody stays home with lola.
What happens when there are millions more of them? That’s what Japan wants us thinking about now.
The advice: Don’t wait until everybody is old before figuring out how to take care of old people.