Another week, another fun fact about Japan’s declining birthrate and ageing population to startle and amuse us. Japan has now recorded a full decade where sales of adult nappies outstripped those of baby nappies. Thanks to the surfeit of geriatric incontinents, one well-known manufacturer, Oji Holdings, has made headlines by giving up on tots entirely and announcing it will shift its production to nappies for seniors instead.
It is a reasonable business decision by the company. There just aren’t enough babies. Indeed, children under the age of 15 made up less than 12 per cent percent of the country’s population in 2022, while those aged 65 and over constituted almost 30 per cent.
The Japanese take whatever challenges present themselves in their stride
As for the very old, Oji’s new target market, Shakespeare’s seventh stage (‘second childishness… sans teeth, sans eyes’ etc), can last for decades in Japan. The country has over 90,000 centenarians, enough to fill Wembley stadium.
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