In graying Japan, more companies are making efforts to hire elderly workers

Amid the graying of Japan’s population, an increasing number of companies are offering job opportunities to people age 70 and older after a revised law on hiring older workers took effect last year.

While the law stipulates that companies need to make efforts to ensure workers up to the age of 70 have job opportunities, many companies are hoping to utilize older workers as valuable assets beyond what is laid out in the legislation.

Companies need to be careful when employing older people, for example by making sure to prevent work-related accidents. But what is notable with the current trend is that firms are being flexible — not only employing workers over the age of 80, but also allowing them to have side jobs.

The number of companies with a system that enables the employment of people age 70 and over topped 50,000 in 2020. At present, around 675,000 people age 70 or over are working, a figure that has more than doubled over the past four years.

Electronics retailer Nojima Co. is one of the companies employing people in that age range. In July 2020, it changed its policy on how long it will in principle extend employment for staffers after the retirement age of 65, raising it to the age of 80, and from last year it effectively abolished its age limit to allow older workers to continue working on a case-by-case basis — the company allows for further extensions if the employee has no health problems.

As of the end of January, 25 people over the age of 70 were working at Nojima, thereby making use of their previous experience.

Emiko Kumagai, 80, who works at a Nojima outlet in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, is the first person to work at the company who is that age or older.

Kumagai had been working part-time at another major retailer, but that store closed, and when Nojima opened an outlet at the same location in June 2009, she was hired as a part-timer, even though she was already close to 70.

“We have been hiring experienced workers since the company was founded. So there was already a basis for people working regardless of their age,” said Masakazu Toyama, manager of Nojima’s human resources department.

Kumagai commutes to work on a motorcycle and works four days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Younger employees call her “Grandma” and often seek her out for advice on personal issues, while customers Kumagai’s age rely on her knowledge of home appliances.

“Older customers tend to avoid asking young employees about smartphones and computers,” noted Toyama. “Meanwhile, senior employees can tend to them by reflecting on their own experiences.”

The income allows Kumagai to lead her life without having to tighten her purse strings.

“It’s nice to be able to replace flowers in the garden each season with the salary I get,” she added.

Tokyu Community Corp., a Tokyo-based firm that maintains apartment complexes and other buildings, employs its senior workers as contract workers and part-timers until they reach the age of 77. As of March 2021, nearly half of its 11,322 employees were 65 or older and 2,320 were age 70 or older.

Many of those who apply to Tokyu Community to be maintenance staff for apartment complexes have retired from companies in other industries. The company has an extensive training program and offers a reward of ¥5,000 or more for acquiring real estate-related qualifications. The company also allows those who work shorter hours, and earn a lower income, to have a side job, provided they are not in the same industry.

Safety considerations are also essential, as much of the work is physically demanding. Tokyu Community lends safety shoes to employees and shares information on hazardous situations that workers experienced each month with others. The company also encourages healthy activities, for example by giving employees points that can be used for welfare benefits when they participate in a marathon.

“Health management is an important task in the employment of seniors,” Hiroyuki Ikeda, head of the company’s human resources division, stressed.

As Japan’s birthrate declines and society ages, companies are likely to face a shortage of labor, says Yasuko Matoba, chief researcher at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

“The physical strength and health of the elderly varies greatly from person to person, and companies will need to monitor individual cases to see whether there are any concerns about their style of working,” she said.