TECHNOLOGY-JAPAN: Seniors Eager to Explore World of IT

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Aug 15 2003 (IPS) - At the rate its membership is growing, the Grannies Computer Association has had to restrict the entry of new applicants, all of whom are eager to enter the world of the Internet.

Since its launch in 1997, some 200 people, all above the age of 60 years, have joined the Tokyo-based citizens’ group in a country that is among the fastest ageing societies in the world. People over 65 years now comprise 18.5 percent of Japan’s 127 million people.

Kayoko Ookawa, the 74-year-old founder of the group who is a retired stenographer, says: "Judging by the enthusiasm among our members, the elderly are determined to learn more about information technology. All they need are lessons that cater to their specific needs.”

Members of the Grannies Computer Association get hands-on lessons from information technology experts, all of whom are volunteers.

These experts help the members, most of them are in their eighties and nineties, buy their first personal computers. In succeeding sessions, they explain the intricacies of the World Wide Web to members of a generation that has barely used word processors.

"It is rewarding to see the lives of old people change when they start using the computer,” says Saburo Asai, a 60-year-old volunteer. ”The going is slow but there is no doubt access to the Internet has contributed to the betterment of their old age."

The Grannies Computer Association and reaching out to the elderly is just one of many projects that are part of the country’s goal of becoming a world leader in a "Japan-inspired information technology society”, because it lags behind other industrialised countries in information technology.

In its 2003 white paper on information and communications, the government states that Japan is shifting from a "catch-up phase” to a leader and consistent efforts must be made to keep up with the IT revolution.

Official data shows Japan has currently 6.9 million IT users or 54 percent of its IT compatible population. That puts it behind South Korea, which has a penetration rate of 56.2 percent.

At the top of the list globally is Iceland, 69 percent of whose population accesses the Internet.

The white paper points out that Japan also lags behind the United States in the use of information technology at companies, firms and among the general population.

A basic attitude that must be in changed in Japan, notes the paper, is the view of information technology as a means of "improving efficiency, while their American counterparts use the Internet as a ‘source of growth’ ”.

A new ‘e-Japan’ strategy outlined by the government calls for increasing the number of IT users by 2005 and focusing on increasing high-speed Internet connections to 10 million households in that time frame.

A budget of close to 9 billion U.S. dollars has been set aside for this national vision in the next three years.

The senior sector, where only 16.2 percent are computer literate, has also become a key component of the country’s IT aspirations.

"Japan is a latecomer in the communications industry but has made enormous progress in catching up. Everything is being done to see nobody is left out," says Minoru Kamaoka, at the IT section at the prime minister’s office.

But despite the popularity of groups like the Grannies Computer Association, experts say that other programmes do not always meet seniors’ needs.

For example, the labour ministry-sponsored IT programmes for seniors, launched to enhance office operations and make greater use of optical fibre networks in the country, are having mixed results.

Minoru Kamoka, director of the National Silver Human Resources Centre Association, says progress is slow mostly because the elderly have difficulties in keeping up with fast-paced changes in digital technology that are tailored toward office work.

"Government programmes focus heavily on linking computer literacy with jobs, a system that often inhibits older people who, despite learning, cannot compete with more computer-savvy younger generation," he explains.

Ookawa says the secret to successful programmes is using technology to target the needs of the elderly – including social relationships in a changing society. ”By communicating on the Internet, old people do not feel lonely. The Internet is thus a lifeline, as important as water and electricity,” she says.

Members spend several hours chatting, exchanging information and giving advice to each other, a form virtual form of communication reminiscent of traditional Japan.

"Old people in Japan feel isolated because society has changed so much. Through the Internet, however, they can share traditions with their own generation. This makes them happier and more energetic as a result," Ookawa explains.

Indeed, members report, the first thing the elderly members of the Grannies Computer Association do every morning is check the mailing list they are part of.

Before they go to bed at night, they follow the same ritual. "I am on the computer from 5 am to make sure those messages reach members because I know they are all waiting eagerly," says Ookawa.

Asai adds that teaching the elderly to use the Internet for communication also helps them to be more independent. ”The Japanese tradition of depending on one’s children in old age is fast fading away and the Internet provides them with a tool to be more (independent) that way," he says.