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2012/12/20

Magic of Love, Life, and Leaves - How A Leaf Business Turns Japan’s Demographic Challenges Into Opportunities-

Japan has the world’s second most aged population (after Monaco).  The average (median) age of the Japanese population is 45, compared to the world’s estimated median age of 28.  With 23% of the population aged 65 and over, Japan’s demographic chart looks quite opposite to developing countries’ pyramid shapes.  Moreover, rural areas of Japan have been facing serious depopulation, as young people move out of town to pursue higher education and/or find jobs in large cities. 


Tokushima Prefecture, where I was born and brought up, is one of the prefectures with highly aged population.  Nearly 30% of the population in Tokushima is above 65.  This means that three out of ten people you meet in my hometown are likely to be older than 65.  Such demographic composition poses big challenges.  As the ratio of the retiree to workers becomes larger, increased social security costs need to be born by diminished working population.

But there is a ray of hope to this gloomy situation.  During my 3-day homecoming trip, I visited Kamikatsu town in Tokushima and saw an encouraging business model that fully utilizes elderlies’ capabilities.   Kamikatsu is a mountainous, remote area with its 88.5% of land covered with forest.  Among the 24 cities and towns of Tokushima prefecture, Kamikatsu town has the highest average age of citizens: 59.  The share of people who are 65 and above is 49% compared to the Prefecture’s average, 30%.  Kamikatsu became a household name in Japan thanks to its successful leaf business by senior citizens.  Believe it or not, Kamikatsu’s elderlies have made a fortune from local leaves.  Some grandmothers earn ten million yen (approximately $125,000) per year by selling leaves.  The number of Kamikatsu farmers who take part in this leaf business grew to 200 from four in the 1980s, and the business has become a good model of utilizing elderlies’ potential and local nature.  Even a movie was made this year based on the true stories of Kamikatsu town.


How can elderlies make such an amount of money from leaves?  The hint lies in Japanese food culture.  When you travel to Japan, you will be served Japanese dish with some colorful leaves and flowers.  They are called Tsumamono.  A good Japanese dish appeals to your eyes, smells nice, tastes good, and it is filled with a sense of the season.   In this respect, Tsumamono, which adds colors and seasonality to the dish, plays a vital role in authentic Japanese cuisine.  Moreover, it is used for not only aesthetic but also hygienic reasons; Tsumamono kills and repels bacteria.  Thus, Tsumamono represents a wisdom of our ancestors to make food look more appetizing as well as safer, and beautiful leaves and flowers can be sold at a good price in Japan.

Although the high economic benefit from the business is well known, it is just a small part of what the leaf business has brought to Kamikatsu.  The leaf business matched well with the mentality of Japanese senior citizens, most of whom are quite healthy and active and usually prefer to be independent than to be taken care of by others.  “It is quite painful to be told to just sit and watch TV.  I want to continue working,“ said one of the farmers who take part in the leaf business.  Senior citizens became livelier  and healthier as they found themselves playing a vital role in their society.  Indeed, Kamikatsu bears the lowest medical cost for senior citizens in Tokushima Prefecture.


Another positive effect of the leaf business was the return of young people to the aged, depopulated town.  Every year, around 25 people move into Kamikatsu, mainly to support their families engaged in the leaf business.   As families started living together in the town again, the number of three-generation households has increased.  Senior citizens became even more cheerful with the return of their children and grand children to the town.  Moreover, 556 students visited the town as interns in the last two years. Although the lack of successors remains a headache, the small town has succeeded in improving the welfare of the local citizens by utilizing its rich nature and healthy senior citizens.

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