Greying Society

TOKYO -- As the nation of Japan grays and people gravitate to big cities leaving their hometowns behind, new services that enable people to see live images of the graves of their loved ones online or access photographs of their loved ones via the Net is gaining in popularity.

Two grandmother monkeys have been seen intervening to raise their own grandchildren, providing essential care including suckling the young.

The scientists who witnessed the behaviour say it is the first unambiguous example of such behaviour shown by a non-human primate.

The observations were made in a free-ranging group of Japanese macaques living in Katsuyama, Japan.

And in Japan, a crowded mountainous country with a fast-ageing society, there is a shortage of final resting places, especially in the big cities.

Burial plots in Tokyo can cost more than $100,000 (£63,318), so some are turning to a cheaper hi-tech solution - multi-storey graveyards.

With this kind of system we can store a lot of remains so you don't have to visit a graveyard far away

Today, in commemoration of the annual ‘Respect for the Aged Day’ (敬老の日), the government estimates that one in four women in this country are 65 years of age or older.

Hikikomori are an astonishing 1% of the Japanese population who long themselves in their room for long periods of time.

We have a serious problem of fewer children in Japan these days. There are some causes of it, and today, I focus on Soushoku Danshi (Vegetarian Boys).

A conspiracy of the Obatarians. The young live in fear.

Japan is graying and its birthrate is falling faster than any other country in the world, a government white paper has warned.

People aged 65 or older accounted for 22.1 percent of Japan's total population as of last October, while those aged up to 14 represented only 13.5 percent of the total.

Drivers will first be asked to write the current date and time. They will then be shown 16 illustrations, for example of animals, for a short time and asked to describe in writing what they have seen. They will also be asked to draw a picture of a clock indicating a particular time.

A Japanese doctor has apologised after saying that people should smoke themselves to an early death to save the country money on elderly care, according to his hospital.

The size of the silver sake cup presented to people who turn 100 is to be reduced from fiscal 2009, as more people are living into triple digits.

The current cup is about 10.5 centimeters in diameter. The new size will probably be about nine centimeters.

A couple is suspected of illicitly receiving welfare benefits for 29 years after the husband's grandmother died in 1975 at the age of 80.

In 2004 a television station, believing that she was still alive, told city hall that it wanted to interview her. When an official called about the interview, the man said "She's not here now," which aroused suspicion.

A 107-year-old Chinese woman who was afraid to marry when she was young has decided to look for her first husband and hopes to find a fellow centenarian so they will have something to talk about

The National Police Agency said it will retract a penalty for drivers aged 75 or older who fail to display a sticker indicating to other road users that they are elderly.

The agency also decided to study whether to change the design of the "momiji" (autumn leaf) mark, as it has been criticized by some as resembling a dead leaf.

The over 60s are the fastest-growing group of criminals in Japan, which incarcerates its pensioners at a rate far higher than any other country in the industrialised world.