James Paul 
In France, the social partners are in full discussion around a possible development of the pension reform which had plunged the country into a large social movement of opposition to retirement at 64 years. In Japan, however, the question does not arise in these terms, quite the contrary.
Toyota’s bet
The world car giant, Toyota, has just made a surprising proposal to its employees. They are asked if they are ready, on the basis of volunteer, to work up to 70 years!
In theory, Japanese employees have the opportunity to leave from the age of 60, recalls France Info. Except that at this age, they will not have a full retreat and will receive a pension of around 75 % of normal, specify our colleagues. Then, once the age of 65 has reached, we arrive at the rate of 100 %.
The manufacturer offers its seniors to stay up to 70 years old with the same system that we have just presented. The sooner they leave, the less they will receive money. Toyota also plays on the sensitive string by promising a merit -based remuneration. If the company makes this choice of the most extreme, it is because it faces a cruel lack of labor to run its factories and offices.
Japan bets on robots
As a reminder, Japan faces an unprecedented demographic crisis, with an birth rate in free fall and an aging population. In 2024, the country recorded only 720,988 births, a historically low record. This situation, combined with a glaring shortage of labor in the care sector for the elderly, prompted this country to turn to innovative technological solutions.
To meet these challenges, the Empire of the Rising Sun develops assistance robots such as Aireca 150 kg humanoid capable of performing essential tasks of care. The latter, equipped with artificial intelligence, are designed to help reposition patients, change layers and perform other basic tasks.
The Japanese government actively supports these initiatives, and it believes that technology could be the best chance of avoiding an imminent crisis in the care for the elderly. Officially, these robots are not intended to completely replace human employees, but they should play a crucial role in improving the quality of care and the relief of the workload of the nursing staff in the years to come.
