Banks and securities firms in Japan now offer services that allow relatives to co-manage assets while seniors are still capable.
Photographer: Soichiro Koriyama/BloombergJapan’s ‘Dementia Money’ Is a Warning to the World
As cognitive decline spreads among older investors, nearly half of Japan’s GDP is increasingly vulnerable to mismanagement, fraud and inactivity.
Teruo still moves with easy confidence and exercises every day, though a recent spike in bear sightings around his town has forced him to trade his morning jogs for the fluorescent hum of a local gym. At 84, he’s still a quick wit and an eager storyteller, able to hold court with anecdotes from his decades in regional government.
“At my age, you start wondering how many years you have left,” he says, settling into an armchair in the living room of his farmhouse, surrounded by the quiet rice fields of Japan’s western Toyama Prefecture. “The risk of things like dementia starts to feel personal,” said Teruo, who asked to be identified by only his first name to protect his privacy. “All I’m really focused on is preparing enough money to leave for my kids, when the time comes.”