00:00Ms. Li Yi on the podium at a major sporting event
00:02You think this is how it is?
00:03All of them were tall, young, and beautiful women.
00:07However, at this Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan
00:10The art style is a bit different.
00:12These are carrying trays of medals
00:14They were a group of volunteers with full heads of silver hair.
00:17This scene quickly sparked heated discussions online.
00:20Is this breaking with tradition and going against the grain?
00:23Or a cruel microcosm of Japan's aging society.
00:26This is not something the organizers deliberately tried to do to be different.
00:29Rather, it stems from the extremely open nature of this Asian Games.
00:32Volunteer Recruitment Policy
00:33The organizing committee has only one requirement for volunteers.
00:36Anyone who is 18 years of age or older is eligible.
00:38There is no upper age limit.
00:40There are no restrictions on gender, height, or appearance.
00:43This also makes the oldest volunteer at this year's sporting event.
00:46He reached the age of 91.
00:48In this 91-year-old grandfather
00:50Just because I missed the Tokyo Olympics in the past
00:52So take advantage of this Asian Games
00:54Contribute to the international conference once again
00:56In contrast to many past competitions that had strict body requirements for Ms. Li Yi,
01:00With appearance screening
01:02Japan has essentially adhered to the principle of "nothing out of the ordinary" this time.
01:05As long as the training is successful
01:07They may still be asked to go on stage and hand over the medal.
01:10It has nothing to do with age or appearance.
01:12Of course, besides the opening up of recruitment policies
01:14This scene reflects the increasingly serious aging problem in Japanese society.
01:18The Asian Games Organizing Committee originally planned to recruit 40,000 volunteers.
01:22In the end, only 10,000 people arrived.
01:24Plus no salary subsidy
01:26Those from out of town also have to pay for their own accommodation.
01:28Young people are not in school
01:29I'm at work.
01:31You need to consistently set aside time to participate.
01:32This threshold is just too high.
01:34In contrast, Japan has a large number of healthy people.
01:37Ample time
01:38Retired seniors who also want to participate in international events
01:40They naturally became the main force of volunteers for this Asian Games.
01:44The phenomenon of Japan's super-aged society
01:47This is also reflected in the numbers.
01:48This year
01:49Japanese population aged 65 and over
01:51It has reached 36.24 million people.
01:5329.6% of the total population
01:56The population over 100 years old
01:57It also surpassed 100,000 for the first time.
01:59Everyone will grow old
02:00We often say that Japan has a serious aging population.
02:03But from another perspective
02:05If an elderly person is still healthy
02:07I am also willing to participate in international competitions.
02:09So why must it be based on age?
02:11Why not leave him in the audience?
02:13Getting old doesn't mean the end of life.
02:16Perhaps what we should really change is...
02:18Not the people on the awards stage
02:19It's about how we view the old.
02:21What's your opinion?
02:22Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
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