--- title: "The Elderly in Japan are Using Exoskeletons to Delay Retirement" description: "Older folks in Japan are using exoskeletons to help them do their jobs as they are spending more of their lives in the workforce, as New Scientist reports." date: "2019-12-12" modified: "2019-12-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/elderly-japan-exoskeletons" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "exoskeletons" - "Japan" --- # The Elderly in Japan are Using Exoskeletons to Delay Retirement ![Older folks in Japan are using exoskeletons to help them do their jobs as they are spending more of their lives in the workforce, as New Scientist reports.]() *Innophys \Image: Innophys\* Exoskeletons aren't just for [super soldiers](), [automotive assembly workers]() and [the paralyzed]() — they can assist the elderly in everyday tasks as well. Now, [*New Scientist* reports]() that older folks in Japan are using exoskeletons to help them do their jobs as they spend more of their lives in the workforce*.* Japan currently has one of the oldest populations int he world. According to the U.S. Population Reference Bureau, Japan has the highest share of people above the age of 65 of any country — [26 percent](), according to 2015 data. In response, a number of Japanese tech companies are building exoskeleton suits to give the elderly a leg — or arm — up. One such company, Innophys, developed a backpack-like suit that can be 'charged' by squeezing a hand pump 30 times to fill pressurized air-powered "muscles." The suit can allow people to lift up to 55 pounds, costs the equivalent of about $1,300. "One client is a family-owned company which makes and sells pickled radish and uses heavy weights in the process of production,” Innophys spokesperson Daigo Orihara told *New Scientist*. "The father is in his 70s and was supposed to retire but is still working with our muscle suit." Other suits *New Scientist* pointed out include Panasonic's popular electric Atoun Model Y, a $5,500 suit that can add 22 pounds of lifting force and another, by automotive giant [Toyota](), which has said its motorized exoskeleton research is in part intended to support an aging labor force. As the population keeps aging, the demand for such exoskeletons is predicted to increase. To keep enough people in the workforce, *New Scientist* pointed out, the Japanese government is looking at raising the retirement age [from 60 to 70](), furthering the need to find a solution. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()