2004 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 1-24
Various social problems in an elderly society are global issues in today's society. Aging proceeds globally in the world while Japan is expected to become a super-aged society in an unprecedented short term. An increase in the elderly population, including the disabled, demands the expansion of social security-related expenditures, which confers an unbearable burden to the following generation. These “Aging Crises” would give rise to the collapse of the social system. We are here to emphasize the importance of the integration of the elderly population toward the productive society and in the reform of the life cycle that is currently refined by education, labor, and retirement. In order to establish a sustainable society, in which the elderly can be independent, we need to explore the occupations that are suitable for the elderly and reduce social security-related expenditures. In our research scheme, we conjugated the related research fields including medical science, engineering, and social science in order to integrate the various aspects of a complex aged society. The recent progress in our research project is reported.
