East Asia
Ageing society

Rental families to heal lonely souls in Japan

People living in Japan with few relatives or friends can hire a stand-in.

A rent-a-family service offered by Family Romance helps fill in the gaps when people need a friend for a wedding or simply a companion for dinner.

June 4, 2019
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Kuranosuke Kato is the first baby in two decades to be born in the village of Ichinono  03:41
Japan
The only child in a Japanese village
December 29, 2024
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China’s government has announced it is lifting the retirement age for workers. The changes set to go into effect from January 1, 2025, are seen as an attempt to mitigate the effects of a rapidly...02:37
Ageing society
How Chinese citizens feel about raising the retirement age
September 29, 2024
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Read more on this story: https://sc.mp/ee6bw ...03:19
Japan
Japan’s ‘lonely death’ surge among elderly
May 16, 2024
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For more Singapore stories: https://sc.mp/e349e ...03:09
Southeast Asia
Singapore’s lion dance with a twist
February 13, 2024
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Millions of migrant workers helped transform China from an agrarian economy into a manufacturing giant, but most have yet to see major changes in their own living conditions. Unequal distribution...13:35
Migrant workers in China
Migrant workers who transformed China now struggling to survive
October 18, 2023
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Chen Pui-hing has an unconventional job. The Hong Kong funeral director is focused on making sure there is a respectful final farewell for people who die alone and with few or no friends and loved...13:57
Death and grieving
The funeral director ensuring proper farewells for Hong Kong’s elderly
October 14, 2023
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China has seen a significant increase in the size and influence of its middle class, but an ageing population is set to hinder the nation’s growth. In the US, the size of the middle class fell from...15:52
China economy
Middle class in China and US fear losing status
September 22, 2023
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Read more on this: https://sc.mp/b3wr ...02:18
Japan
Japan’s population is getting old, faster
September 20, 2023
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China is predicted to have 400 million retirees in 2035 - the same year the state pension fund is expected to run out. In this episode, Jasmine Tse analyses the central government's race to prepare...37:19
China's ageing population
China’s elderly are heading to retirement, here’s why that’s a problem
July 23, 2023
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An increasing number of young people in Indonesia have been training to become carers for the elderly as part of a Japanese government scheme to employ foreigners with special skills. Japan, with...02:27
Indonesia
Indonesians seek work in an ageing Japan
April 4, 2023
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Retired farmworker Wang Fengqin has been avoiding hospital treatment for diabetes to save money, despite persistent pain in her abdomen. She is still working because her pension is not enough to...02:12
China's ageing population
Ageing in northeast China signals looming pension crisis
February 28, 2023
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Amid a rapidly ageing population and soaring operating costs, subway systems in South Korea's metropolises are increasingly grappling with snowballing losses from free rides for the elderly. Seoul...03:12
South Korea
Seoul mulls raising minimum age for free subway rides
February 16, 2023
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Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on January 23, 2023, that the country must take urgent steps to address the country’s shrinking population. Plagued by low birth rates and a rapidly ageing...02:01
Japan
Kishida says Japan must act on population drop
January 24, 2023
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With one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, South Korea’s population is expected to shrink to 38 million in 2070, the country’s official statistics agency revealed in September 2022. The latest...02:09
South Korea
Fewer South Koreans are having babies, leading to a demographic crisis
November 24, 2022
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Newly released demographic figures show that the populations of more than a third of China’s provinces have shrunk in 2021. The figures released in November in China Statistical Yearbook 2022 have...02:07
China's population
China’s birth rate falls to record low
November 23, 2022
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Elderly gamers in Japan are proving that age is just a number.The Matagi Snipers is the country’s first professional esports team comprising only senior players. The team consists of 14 men and...01:30
Esports
Japan’s ‘golden oldie’ esports team
October 20, 2021
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When Wong Yee-nga’s flat was broken into and ransacked in July 2019, the 82-year-old woman was left distraught that she spent more than a year sleeping at 24-hour McDonald’s branches. When the Hong...10:18
Ageing society
A home that’s not a home
September 19, 2021
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The South Korean island of Nokdo is home to only four children. The once-vibrant fishing village on the island has been rapidly shrinking, underscoring a deeper demographic crisis that the nation...03:04
Ageing society
Last children on ageing South Korean island
March 19, 2021
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An electronics retailer in Japan has raised its retirement age from 65 to 80, in response to the nation’s shrinking and ageing labour force, and reportedly to please an increasingly “mature”...02:11
Ageing society
Japanese firm raises retirement age to 80
August 3, 2020
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A 67-year-old woman has reportedly become China's oldest new mother after giving birth to a baby girl on October 25, 2019. After a 36-week pregnancy, the baby named Tianci was delivered by...02:06
Ageing society
China’s oldest new mother
October 29, 2019
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Hong Kong has one of the world’s top-ranked medical services, providing the city’s 7.4 million people with care that has a good reputation for availability, affordability and quality.  ...04:53
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals
Health care in Hong Kong
June 27, 2019