Japan's economy relies on keeping people employed past the typical retirement age, especially after the country's birthrates last year fell below one million for the first time since 1899 and because it has the longest life expectancy among any other country. A couple things to consider, from the NYT:
- More than half of the taxi drivers in Japan are 60 years old or older
- Among Japanese men 65 and older, more than half have some sort of paying job (compared to only ~33% of American men the same age)
Why this matters: Japan could be a case study for how other countries reshape their economies and labor markets. For example, Japan is increasing the age at which workers can collect pension (to 70 years old) to mitigate the economic strain from the number of retirees currently collecting. And there are more resources specifically targeting retirees, like a senior center in Tokyo that connects retired workers with short-term gigs.