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World’s Oldest Country Turning to Robots for Elderly Care
Caught between Japan’s high labor costs and anti-immigrant sentiment, some Japanese politicians have even suggested exporting some of Japan’s elderly to Thailand and the Philippines, but that idea hasn’t received much popular support.
So Japan is turning to robots for caregiving, according to the World Future Society.
One new robotic product is a human washing machine, which gives “assisted-care baths.”Japanese companies also plan to start marketing a “robot suit,” a motorized, battery-operated pair of pants designed to help the aged and infirm move around on their own.
Another product, called the wakamaru, is a mobile, three-foot-high speaking robot equipped with two camera eyes. It’s used largely by working people to keep an eye on their elderly parents at home.
These robotic devices don’t come cheap. The human washing machine is almost $50,000, enough to pay a year’s wages for two Filipino nurses.
Nursing homes aren’t seen as a financially viable option in a society where the portion of people age 65 or older is forecast to soar to 36 percent in 2050, from 19 percent today. In 2050, there may be only one worker for every retiree.
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