A quarter of a million bed-bound elderly people are kept alive in Japan, often for years, by the use of a feeding tube. The average age of a person undergoing this procedure is 81 and the feeding tube is in place for an average of 2.3 years, according to a survey by Japan’s Hospital Association.
When Kanoko’s grandmother was born in 1916, the life expectancy in Japan was 43. It is now 83 – the longest in the world. According to Kanoko, despite this aging population, the nation is reluctant to openly discuss death. Also, doctors are reluctant to stop life support in fear of being prosecuted for killing patients. In addition, the country was ranked a poor 23rd out of 40 in the global ‘quality of death’ survey by the Economist in 2010.
There are financial implications for Japan too. The hospital care for Kanoko’s grandmother exceeds her monthly pension allowance and the remaining cost of 20,000 Yen per month ($200) has to be paid for by the family.
The survey by Japan’s Hospital Association can be accessed online in Japanese.
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