Many Japanese Seniors Want to Work Until Their 80s
Many of Japan's older workers believe that they can keep working until after the age of 80, according to a new survey.
Wellness, a property management company in Tokyo, asked 540 people about working as they get older.
The participants were aged between 65 and 91, although most were in their 70s.
They were asked about how long they think they can continue to work, and 115 said they could keep working until the age of 79.
Most people — 315 — said they could work until their 80s, while 59 said they could work past the age of 90.
This was only a small survey, and most of the participants were men, so it is not representative of the Japanese population.
However, it is clear from the participants' answers that some older people in the country see work as a way to stay healthy as they get older.
In fact, this was the most common reason that people gave for returning to work after retirement.
Others said they returned to work to pay their bills, while some said they enjoyed talking to people at work and didn't want to spend all of their time at home.
About a quarter of the men surveyed said that continuing to work had helped to improve their relationships at home.
According to 2022 data from the Japan Business Federation, 25% of people in Japan over 65 — the age of retirement — were still working.
In the US in 2022, only about 19% of people over 65 were still working, while it was 11% in the UK.
