1.Self-Actualization in Old Age
          by Eiichi Okamoto, Chairman, Osaka Voluntary Action Center

2.The Current Status of Volunteer Activities and Volunteer Coordination in Japan VOL 2

The feature article of “Social Welfare in Osaka” the November 2001 issue, reports the result of the survey on “meaningful engagement in old age” conducted in 2000. It shows that the elderly desire the following measures for “meaningful life ”: opportunities and facilities to relate others, supports & systems to find jobs, group activities planned by and for the elderly themselves, easy access to information, opportunities to use working experiences and skills. I think these claims are corresponding with the present conditions, which lack opportunities for the elderly in spite of various measures of performance by governments nationally and locally.

The time to focus on individual lifestyles

Professor Emiko Ochiai writes in her book, To Families in the 21st Century, that in the 21st century so-called Nuclear Family is broken down with the tendency that married couples use separate family names, and the number of single-based families will gradually increase. What I feel shocked is not only the simple increase in the number of the elderly, but also the huge increase in the number of isolated “parents considered to be the elderly” as a result of out-tasking in domestic tasks, like when children abandon their parents' care. She accordingly points out that an individual independence and lifestyle will be a big issue to be considered, in the future and consequently the necessity of the social bonds and networks will be regarded as much more important than kin-network.

I presume that we will have to think about our lifestyles individually in the 21st century because there will be drastic changes not only in circumstances of families as stated above, but also in working circumstances with the breakdown of lifetime-employment systems and etc. Thus we will seek for our own diverse lifestyles.

Abundant careers and experiences

We often encapsulate the elderly in three typical negative elements, or “three loses,” that is to say:

1. They lose their health because they are apt to be sick.
2. They lose any income sources after retirement.
3. They gradually lose roles and vital involvements in society.

On the other hand they have positive elements, or “three gains”:

1. They gain freedom by relieving themselves from social restrictions.
2. They have gained affluent careers and experiences in their lives.
3. They are in the stage of integrity to try to end their lives meaningfully.

After World War II, Japanese corporations and enterprises were run under productivity-oriented policies. It has only been10 years since social contributions by corporations were discussed. At that time, retired persons were made fun by being called “industrial wastes”or “wet, dead leaves”(note 1). Ever since, societal measures, including the newly introduced Nursing Care Program for elders who require cares by others, have been improved. However, social systems, which enable the new elderly to have self-actualization or to make the most use of their experiences, are still definitely insufficient.

Opportunities for self-actualization

Two things are required to provide the elderly with such opportunities.

One is coaching. It is hardly possible for everyone to find suitable opportunities to make use of their abilities soon after retirement. Coaching or preparations will help connect them with opportunities/activities and let them find their own lifestyles and lead fulfilling lives. I think we should start finding activities in our 40's or at latest 50's. We, therefore, would like to reply very much on coaching conducted by enterprises, labor unions, and government guidance on life-long education. Some large-sized enterprises and their labor unions have been carrying out “Retirement Planning Courses” for their employees since the 1980's. The number, however, is very much limited, and it is, needless to say, none in the cases of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The other is a social set-up, which supports diverse lifestyles and provides us with opportunities for self-actualization. In order to cope with the increasing number of retired persons and their expectations, intermediary agencies such as volunteer centers must collaborate with enterprises and labor unions in the future. In addition, other opportunities that people can take should be available anywhere across the nation. Although the Nursing Care Program is necessary, it is not sufficient help for the elderly. Thus, various supports should be considered more seriously so that the elderly do not depend on entirely on the Nursing Care Program itself.

Note 1: a metaphor for a retired man who follows his wife everywhere since he does not have anything to do after retiring from his job: like wet dead leaves are sticky and difficult to get rid of from roads (wife).

2.Factors Influencing Increased Activity

Incidentally, in the background to this increase in the vigor of continued, organized activities, a number of different affecting factors are involved. Among these are:

1. A trend toward resolving issues related to informal care - which has weakened as a result of urbanization and the increasing prevalence of the nuclear family - through volunteer efforts, and toward revitalization of the community;
2. A trend toward promoting social participation transcending the boundaries of family and company after children have become independent or after employment age; and
3. A realization that volunteer activities are necessary to supplement government community initiatives.

Regarding(1), the importance of “Community Care“ has been called out since the 1970s, and volunteer training activities have been actively promoted since the 1980s to support these pursuits. In Japan, for a period of time after WWII, there was an increasingly strong awareness that the resolution of public issues was the role of the government. Now, however, as a result of these pursuits, there is an increasing awareness that “the resolution of these issues cannot be left entirely up to the government.”

Regarding (2), there has been a significant change in people's image of volunteer activities. In the past, there was a strong image of “ascetic activities in which one suppressed one's own desires for the sake of a mission.” From the latter half of the 1980s, however, there has been a growing view of volunteer activities with a focus on “new encounters” and “discovering a new role for oneself.” Then, in 1993, the Advisory Committee on Social Welfare announced a proposal encouraging the promotion of participation in volunteer activities under the catch phrase “Fun and easy, for anyone, anywhere, anytime,” further developing the atmosphere in which people had a softer image of volunteer activities.

Finally, regarding (3), there has been an increasing realization of the need for volunteer activities exceeding the boundaries of government services, particularly as a result of the situation that arose after the Kobe Earthquake. The government was unable to grasp an overall picture of the damages, and the result was a state of functional paralysis in disaster-relief services immediately after the earthquake occurred. In contrast, volunteers acting of their own free will were able to take action immediately. This situation brought about an understanding of the advantages of civic activities that go beyond simply “filling in the gaps left by government services.”
In this way, there has been in increasing movement toward the popularization and promotion of volunteer activities and civic activities, and, in reality, people from a broad range of backgrounds have come to participate in these endeavors.