Studies of areas such as Kagoshima Prefecture and Amami Islands, which are known for even longer life expectancy than Japan's national average, found that living with purpose may also keep people alive longer. Their elderly residents were more involved in the local communities and spent more time around younger family members.

However, longevity does have its downside. Japan's increasing graying of the population, combined with its low birth rate, has led to a pension crisis, ballooning healthcare costs and a labor shortage that could endanger Japan's economic health.

According to Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, a quarter of the population is now over 65 years old, a record high, and only 13 percent are under 14, a record low.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, the world's second richest person, proposed that to ease countries' gray burden, people should be working less.

"People are going to have to work for more years, until they are 70 or 75, and just work three days a week - perhaps 11 hours a day," Slim said.

The elderly in Japan are putting that into practice, but they are forgoing the part time.

Wow!

The author is China Daily's Tokyo bureau chief. caihong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/26/2014 page8)