Economics
Caring for His Elderly Dad Made This Japanese Businessman Homeless
- 100,000 people a year leave their jobs to nurse relatives
- Ranks of Japan's over-75s set to balloon as baby-boomers age
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When Akihiro Takano resigned from his well-paid job as an events manager at a Tokyo department store at age 45 to take care of his ailing father, he had no idea he was about to slip down the ranks of society until he was penniless and living in a park.
After his father’s death, Takano struggled to make ends meet with a series of insecure jobs while keeping an eye on his frail mother. Nine years later, in 2009, he spent the last of his savings on her funeral, fell behind on rent and was evicted from the apartment that had been the family home for 30 years.