Should government extend retirement age?

 More than 1 in 10 people in Japan are aged 80 or over and almost a third of its population is over 65 which is estimated 36.23 million people. This is having a profound impact on japan especially workplace. 

 Personally, I confident that government should extend retirement age. According to world economic forum, Japan is already facing a labour shortage and by 2040 it can be lacking 11 million workers. This prediction led to introduce "the guideline of measures for aging society in 2018 to encourage older people to continue to work. The lack of people in the workplace can cause the shrinking of company's productivity. Most company surely want to avoid getting this worse situation by maintaining their working population. Extending the retirement age can let older people to remain at the company longer than ever before, so in my opinion it is the key to reduce the impact on workplace.

 However, it has some drawbacks for elderly people to work for a long period. Firstly, if the work is too physically hard, it could be not good for their health. In most cases, older people is not so powerful compared to younger people. This age-related issue can make working difficult. So it seems tough for those who have a job involving physical labour to continue working. Next, some people may prefer to retire to spend more time with family, travel or their hobby. Extending retirement age can make it difficult for elderly workers to choose retirement before reaching extended retirement age. Maintaining current retirement age can make it easy for elderly workers who want to enjoy the rest of their life to choose retirement.

 Overall, extending retirement age has both benefits and drawbacks. In my opinion, government should introduce this rule to companies, because current aging society in Japan triggerd some challenging problems related to workplace such as worker shortages. Under Japanese super aging society, it can be the best way to maintain workforse.

More than 1 in 10 people in #Japan are aged 80 or over. Here’s how its ageing population is reshaping the country. (2023, December 25). World Economic Forum. How Japan can take the lead with an ageing workforce. (2020, February 8). World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/japan-reskilling-aging-workforce/