JAPAN: Elderly people find fulfillment by volunteering abroad

As they enter their 50s, the nation’s baby boomers might be expected to be taking life a bit easier and making plans for a relaxing retirement.

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But far from winding down, a number are instead finding new, challenging focuses for their lives that allow them to put their skills and specialties to good use. One way in which many are doing so is by working overseas as volunteers.

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« When I was thinking about giving back what I had earned through work to society on a global scale, I discovered the option of volunteering overseas, » said Jiyu Tsuchiya, 57, of Kiyose, Tokyo. For two years through November 2004, Tsuchiya worked at the Ministry of Health in Nepal as a senior volunteer sent by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

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Tsuchiya used to work at a chemical manufacturer, developing and seeking approval for new drugs in a pharmaceutical division set up the same year he joined the company.

« I worked like mad until I was in my mid-40s, » he said. When he became a manager, he was finally able to relax and began wondering if he was doing the right thing by putting all his efforts into the company. He had majored in pharmacy at university and was a member of an exploration club.

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When he was 27, he took leave from work and spent six months studying musk deer in Nepal. At age 50, by which time his two daughters had grown up, he took a sabbatical and went on a bicycling tour across the Gobi Desert. His wife had never showed any interest in his fascination with adventure, but she went along for the first time.

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Tsuchiya had a strong desire to continue doing hands-on technical work. Believing he could best contribute in a developing country, he applied for volunteer work outside Japan. Since the program he joined allows spouses to accompany participants, his wife went to Nepal with him. He used his expertise to help give technical guidance on pharmaceutical quality assurance and other work.

Tsuchiya resigned from his company just before he left for Nepal. He plans to continue to be involved in aid work in Nepal and Bhutan.

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Norio Kainuma, 55, of Tokyo‘s Koto Ward, used to be a manager at an electric power company. As Japan was no longer building many power plants, he felt his skills as a civil engineer could not be fully utilized here. He has applied for a senior volunteer position using paid vacation time and gave technical guidance on resource development projects, including hydraulic power generation, in Samoa in the South Pacific, for two years until October 2003.

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Kainuma had worked at a research center for many years, undertaking civil engineering research and development projects. The job covered matters such as technical developments associated with hydraulic and nuclear power plant construction, new energy sources such as wave energy and tidal power and research on geothermal power generation.

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« My work covered a wide area, so it was interesting and challenging, » Kainuma said. He has a Ph.D. in engineering and is a recipient of the Distinguished Engineers medal from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers for tunneling technology. Yet, at age 50, he was sent to an affiliate firm and placed in sales.

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Six months after returning from Samoa, he took advantage of an early retirement program and left the company, taking up a post with the Council of Social Welfare run by the city government of Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, where he once lived.

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Kainuma chose the position to make a contribution to the community. However, « I would like to do volunteer work overseas again if there is a good opportunity in which I can use my skills, » he said.

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JICA’s senior volunteer program is a version of its Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers program that targets younger people. The senior program started in 1990 and is aimed at people aged 40 to 69 with specific areas of expertise. About 2,500 people have been sent to 54 countries, and around 300 to 400 have been sent overseas annually since 2000.

Asahi Shimbum

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Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

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