Elderly people exercise with wooden weights in the grounds of a temple in Tokyo, Japan on September 17, 2015.
20 years ago, Mrs. Kyoko Taguchi and her husband, now in their 70s, planned to live a leisurely life after retirement.
Mr. and Mrs. Taguchi’s oldest son is a chef.
According to a government survey, 20% of elderly people over 60 in Japan surveyed said they still have to care for and support their children and grandchildren.
A typical day for 73-year-old Mrs. Taguchi starts at 4am.
Japan’s economic stagnation over the past 20 years has created a generation of adult children who are dependent on aging parents.
Ms. Noriko Motohashi, 79 years old, lives with her daughter Shizuko, 52 years old.
`At first, my daughter just stayed at home, I didn’t feel the financial burden yet,` the mother said, `But then the bills for hiring therapists and psychologists started pouring in,
Government statistics show that the number of single middle-aged people in Japan reached a record level in 2015. Specifically, among people in their 50s, one in four men is unmarried.
`During the bubble economy until the mid-90s of the last century, young people in their 20s were happy with their lives. They thought they would get married when they were over 30. But 1/
`What if something happens to us?`, Mrs. Motohashi couldn’t help but feel worried about her daughter’s future when she and her husband passed away.
