As Japan's birthrate declines and the population ages at an accelerating rate, it is inevitable that the number of "one-person" households will also increase.
Chizuko Ueno has created a bit of a boom with her "Hitorisama" series of books, including "Hitorisama no Rougo" ("The Old Age of the Single Person").
Although I have not read through these books, I can guess what they are about.
The book is a book about how Japanese people, especially women, are more likely to become single, and how they should enjoy their single life more actively without feeling lonely and alone.
I had a feeling that it was a bit fishy and false, since she successfully won the position of professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.
She is making money with her "one-person" series, but in fact she is married, or she lives in a luxury tower apartment in Tokyo, but she said, "People, let's be poor together..." There seems to be no shortage of flames in various places without worrying.
But I don't blame her.
Humans are "contradictory animals," so it is no wonder that what she says and what she does are contradictory.
What she says in the "One-Man" series is not particularly eye-opening, but it is a perfectly reasonable and natural thing to say: "Let's enjoy our retirement as a single person.
It is still shrewd and clever to have timed it so well and put it into the zeitgeist.
Well, I think it is largely due to the power of using one's substantial status, such as academic background.
But as a cynical person, I would like to add a few words to Mr. Ueno's assertion.
Is "going it alone" such a wonderful thing?
First of all, let's take Japanese people, young and old, and men and women, who have become disjointed, Shouldn't we first connect Japanese people of all ages and genders in new ways and with new hands?
There is no greater happiness in the world than people connecting with each other in a positive way.
She says, learn the know-how and hone your skills to make your old age wonderful...,is it really that easy for everyone?
Not all elderly people in Japan are as smart and shrewd as Ms. Ueno.
It's absolutely obvious that this alone will create a huge gap in society, isn't it?
After all, it will be a "one-man" survival war, won't it?
It is said that when wild animals realize that they are about to die, they quietly leave the herd without being noticed by their friends and die quietly and alone somewhere.
How about human beings, too? How can we make our lives rich and fulfilling in our old age? Maybe we should just quietly prepare ourselves to "die quietly and alone somewhere".
Sorry, not a word.