40% of companies in world more than 300 years old are Japanese.
That is because they subscribe to Wise Capitalism rather than Wall Street Capitalism.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ต๐บ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ข๐ฑ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ?
First, the large number of very old firms means their strategic plans have a very long time frame, in some cases up to 200 years.
Secondly, these companies have very stable leadership that isnโt bothered about about external metrics (share price etc. ) but develops its measurements of what success looks like from inside out.
Leadership is highly respected and based its plans on a long term vision for the future rather than short term data.
Japan routinely suffers terrible natural disasters and this focus on the future makes these companies highly resilient. When earthquakes etc happen these leaders thing of their employees and customers first and profits last.
Thirdly, empathy is highly valued in these firms.
Japan also has some of the longest living people on the planet.
But, it wasn’t always that way…
๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ?
For many of the same reason that their companies last so long:
First, strategic plans that have a very long time frame.
Secondly, stable leadership that isnโt bothered about external trends but focussed on long term health, building from inside out.
Leadership is highly respected and based its plans on a long term vision for the future rather than short term data.
Thirdly, empathy for their population and each other. The Japanese, and other eastern cultures have a more group focus when it comes to success.
They see themselves as part of the whole and help each other to achieve goals.
This is reflected in Asian versus Western Instagram posts. There are LOADS of Asian women who make a living from being lifestyle influencers, but if you check out their feeds, their selfies are more likely to include their friends and/or the background in their locations, rather than just a face or butt.
Meet Takami Kuroiwa.
He looks forward to weekends โ not so he can relax with a little golf or TV, but to put in 12-hour days on the family farm. His regular job as a tourism manager provides a comfortable living, but raising his own fruit and vegetables is part of a lifelong routine.
At 66, Kuroiwa has already come out of retirement once and expects to work well into his later years.
“It’s part of the lifestyle here. You work in an office and then you retire to the farm. It’s just the next stage in life,” Kuroiwa says.
As it turns out, it’s a very long life.
๐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ๐ต, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ๐ด๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐จ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ.
That marks a remarkable turnaround for an area that, as recently as the early 1980s, had the highest rate of strokes in Japan.
๐ก๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
- Location: Japanese Alps
- Size: 5,245 square miles
- Population: 2.15 million
- No. 1 in: Life expectancy, employment rate for those 65+ and vegetable consumption per capita
Women in Nagano prefecture can expect to live an average of 87.2 years, while men can look forward to living 80.9 years.
The lifestyle in Nagano has also produced some of the lowest per capita medical costs in Japan. That saves consumers and taxpayers millions of dollars a year.
Nagano is unique in many ways, but there are lessons you can apply anywhere. Improve your diet, stay active, continue to work as you get older.
The key is not just to live longer, but to stay healthy longer.
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ฒ๐
Japan is one of the most rapidly aging societies in the world. A quarter of the population is age 65 or older. In Tokyo alone, some 3.1 million residents will be 65 or older by 2025.
Keeping those people healthy and productive is key to controlling costs for Japan’s national health care system and helping offset a declining birth rate.
At first glance, Nagano would seem an unlikely setting for a long and healthy life.
Tucked high in the Japanese Alps, the area experiences long and harsh winters. Arable land is limited. Surrounded by mountains, Nagano is one of the few regions of Japan without immediate access to the fresh fish and seafood that makes up much of the national diet.
Even as Japan’s economy boomed and longevity rates climbed through the post-war era, life expectancy in Nagano lagged. Men in particular suffered from high rates of stroke, heart attack and cerebral aneurysm.
Much of the blame fell on their inability to exercise outside in the long winters and poor diet.
Housewives in Nagano for generations preserved all manner of homegrown produce to make up for the lack of fresh vegetables during long snowy winters.
In wintertime, people would sit around and talk and eat tsukemono all day.
The turning point was 1981, when Nagano became number one in strokes. We decided, ‘OK, we have to do something about this.
๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ก๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ
The first step in boosting Nagano’s life span was a campaign to a healthier diet and lifestyle.
Cases of hypertension and related illnesses began to decline shortly after.
The region of 2.1 million people now has some 4,500 volunteers who host seminars and clinics at supermarkets, shopping malls and community centres. They also conduct regular home visits to dietary recommendations.
Their goal and our motives had nothing to do with becoming number one in life expectancy.
But, individual efforts and local initiatives gradually changed the lifestyle, and that in turn lengthened the life expectancy for the region as a whole.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ?
At cooking demonstration in markets near Nagano’s main train station, volunteers would prepare a dish of sesame pork with shiitake mushrooms and sliced pumpkin.
They also promoted the reduced use of refined vegetable cooking oil.
The efforts paid off with surprising speed. By 1990, life expectancy for men had risen three years in a decade in Nagano prefecture, and 3.5 years for women.
Nagano life spans continued to climb until they topped all of Japan by 2010. Rates of deaths due to cancer, heart and liver disease, and pneumonia now rank well below the national average.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
As the effects of an improved diet began to be felt, the region’s business community found ways to support a healthy lifestyle.
In Matsumoto, the region’s second largest city, a bank started offering higher interest rates and incentives like weekends at Tokyo’s Disneyland for those who get medical checkups for three consecutive years.
A convenience store chain agreed to distribute health care information and host some 40 health fairs at various locations this year.
City health workers take blood pressure readings, answer questions and distribute information on public health care services.
Those preventive care efforts contributed to lower health care costs in Nagano, which came to about $2,488 per person in 2009.
The per capita average in Japan was $3,120, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That compares with $8,233 in the United States.
Japan’s national health insurance program, which covers virtually all residents, including those in intensive nursing care, is funded in part by local contributions.
The Japanese recognise that preventive medicine is much less costly than having to put people in the hospital
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ
Another not-so-secret key to Nagano’s remarkable longevity is a vigorous lifestyle, encouraged by local leaders.
In Matsumoto, officials have developed a network of more than 100 walking routes to encourage people to exercise.
Community groups and neighbourhood associations organize communal walks โ not difficult in group-oriented Japan.
Even in winter, clusters of residents can be found regularly walking along Matsumoto’s streets, parks and canals and around its historic medieval castle downtown.
Japanese officials encourage people to postpone retirement or begin second careers, in part to maintain a healthy lifestyle longer.
Nagano is ahead of the curve there as well. Nearly 1 in 4 people over 65 are still in the workforce โ the highest rate in Japan.
๐๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ช๐ง ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ๐บ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ.
Either way, they are continuing to contribute to their own earnings and the country’s GDP.
Kuroiwa retired as village accountant a few years ago, but came back to manage a new tourism centre last year.
As before, his spare time goes into running his family’s small farm, where he grows apples and rice along with an array of vegetables.
His parents worked regularly into their late 80s, and Kuroiwa figures he and his wife will do the same.
“No one here is particularly aware that we live longer than other people. We don’t have any secret. We just go about our normal everyday lives and it just turns out that way.”
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ก๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง 80๐จ?
Read more… Adding five healthy years to UK life expectancy โ how to achieve it
โAnti-ageingโ protein shown to slow cell growth is key in longevity โ new research
Yours optimally,
Scott