From preparing for shrinking workforces, transforming healthcare needs, to the increasing demands on public spending and social security, the impacts of population aging touch almost every area of government policy and present a number of challenges for sustained economic growth in the region. While not all countries are aging at the same rate, no society will be spared the effects of this demographic phenomenon. Only by improving the region’s cooperation in areas like labor mobility, immigration, and best practice sharing, can the Asia Pacific face the headwinds brought about by population aging. The APRU Population Aging Program hosted by National  University of Singapore brings together renowned experts on population aging from across the Asia-Pacific. It provides a platform to engage with government and enterprise, and to support capacity building to improve the capacity of nations to deal with this aging challenge. APRU aims to raise awareness about the demographic shifts towards older populations, the need to address the challenges, and reap the opportunities of population aging. A key part of this is research to provide policy makers with the evidentiary base for policy making, ensuring aging issues and the transition to an aged society does not hamper economic growth and overall quality of life of people in the region.

The 12th APRU Population Aging Conference 2022 recently brought together over 120 international experts and scholars to engage on global aging issues. Co-organized by Zhejiang University and the National University of Singapore (NUS) under the theme Ageing at a time of crisis: understanding needs, navigating new challenges, a central theme of the virtual 2-day conference was to present the importance of collaboration across research, policy, and practice domains to achieve optimal outcomes for older persons. Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are confronted with the massive challenges associated with aging populations. Nearly 60% of the world’s elderly population live in Asia, creating persistent pressures for governments in the region and emerging as a central issue for research, policy, and practice. “In a recent UN Forum, experts urged us to develop safe, secure and aging-friendly environments as the Asia- Pacific population is ageing faster than any other region,” said Dr Christopher Tremewan, Secretary General of APRU, in his opening remarks. “Given that aging issues such as inequality, income security, and the digital divide are being exacerbated by climate change, digital transformation and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is timely to address together what is clearly a global issue affecting us all,” he added. Angelique Chan, Associate Professor in the Signature Program in Health Services and Systems Research at National University of Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School, served as a co-chair of the conference. Chan, who also is the Director of APRU Population Ageing Program, presented an overview of ageing issues and challenges. “We must look more deeply into topics such as the effects of social support on health, caregiver burden, and use of long-term care services,” Chan said. “It is also important to increase social engagement and psychological wellbeing in not only older persons but also their caregivers,” she added. Zhejiang University was represented by Ka Lin, Professor of Social Policy and Social Work. As the conference co-lead, he shared how Zhejiang University leveraged on their network in China to find top presenters, collaborated internally with their international office and senior management, and partnered with NUS to successfully co-host the conference. “Given that previous research has shown that having purpose and meaning at older ages leads to living longer and a higher quality of life, we need to advocate for policies that encourage productive aging, leverage on the ability of older persons to continue to contribute to society,” Lin said. He also highlighted the need to ensure that older adults live with dignity, honour, and respect. Keynotes were held by Prof. John Piggott, Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) at UNSW Sydney and Alan Walker, Professor of Social Policy & Social Gerontology Institution, at the University of Sheffield. The 12th APRU Population Ageing Virtual Conference 2022 served as a highly valuable platform also for abstracts presenters from across the APRU universities. The event furthermore featured the five winners of the student poster submission. Topics spanned from caregivers’ experiences preparing for End-of-Life (EoL) decisions in Singapore to sandwich generation’s caregiving and cognitive health in China. Secretary General of APRU Tremewan took the opportunity to thank National University of Singapore and Zhejiang University for being active and committed APRU members engaged in many of APRU’s programs. To find out more information about the Population Aging Conference 2022, visit here.

APRU successfully concluded its 11th APRU Aging Population Virtual Conference on April 8, recording over 300participants from over twenty economies. Hosted by the Universitas Indonesia’s (UI) Faculty of Public Health (FPH) under the theme Challenges and Resilience Related to Aging: Surviving and Thriving toward Successful Aging, the two-day event facilitated many fruitful panel discussions on important sub-topics ranging from economics in aging societies to reproductive health in aging populations. The conference activities consisted of keynotes, plenaries, symposiums, oral and poster presentations and showcased the first video competition in the APRU Population Aging Program. “UI has been determined to become a world-class research university committed to academic and research innovations, and this conference closely aligns with UI’s core mission of carrying out the “tri dharma” of higher education, i.e., education, research, and community service,” said Professor Ari Kuncoro, Rector of the university, in his opening address. The most pressing problems faced by the world’s elderly population were identified and examined by the conference’s keynote and panel speakers. UI Secretary Professor Agustin Kusumayati highlighted the importance of collaboration and cooperation in handling the problems of the elderly population. Kusumayati pointed out that the elderly are more vulnerable during the current pandemic because of comorbidity and limited interactions causingloneliness. Professor Angelique Chan, APRU Population Aging Program Director, warned that the world is heading for a population structure dominated by the elderly (60 years and over). She cited predictions that the number of older people in Asia will increase by 60% by 2030, with the four associated fundamental problems being anxiety, loss of life purpose, loss of bodily functions, and care problems. Professor Hiroki Nakatani from Keio University, for his part, called upon governments to initiate related programs, such as preventive insurance programs, that he sees as essential in maintaining the health of the elderly. Empowering the elderly via participating in volunteering programs is also important. “This provides the elderly with the purpose of life and community support as well as the physical activity they need to remain productive in life,” Nakatani said. Other speakers were Professor Yudho Giri Sucahyo (Head of Smart City Study, Faculty of Computer Science, UI); Professor Sudijanto Kamso (FPH, UI), Dr. Hasbullah Thabrany, National Health Insurance; and Dr Nafsiah Mboi, (Minister of Health of Indonesia Bersatu II Cabinet and The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation). Find out more information about the conference here.

The APRU Population Aging Program, which was hosted by Keio University until the end of 2020, completed its transfer to the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Ageing Research & Education at Duke-NUS Medical School. The APRU Population Aging Program aims to raise awareness about the demographic shifts towards older populations and reap the opportunities of population aging in an era of shrinking workforces and transforming healthcare needs exerting upward pressures on public spending. Professor Angelique Chan, Executive Director of the Centre for Ageing Research & Education at Duke-NUS Medical School, has committed to take up the leadership of the Program until the end of 2022. Chan and the steering committee have been collaborating closely to build on the well-established program platform and leverage the Centre for Ageing Research & Education’s expertise to develop impactful activities. “Whether you are young or old, population ageing will impact our lives in various ways over this century, and NUS is proud to take up the APRU Population Ageing Hub leadership to further the APRU mission of developing research collaborations across member universities,” Chan said. “As a group, we remain committed to furthering high-quality research on ageing and nurturing young scholars in the field,” she added. Keio University led the APRU Population Aging Program for three years. Program Director Professor Hiroki Nakatani succeeded in significantly increasing the network of leading experts and policymakers engaging with its activities. For example, the partnership with financial newspapers Nikkei and the Financial Times has led to two Super Active Ageing Society Conferences in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The program’s next event will be the 2021 Annual Population Aging Conference, which was moved from last year to April 7-8th due to the pandemic. It will be hosted in virtual mode by the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Public Health under the theme Challenges and Resilience Related to Aging: Surviving and Thriving toward Successful Aging. The conference’s sub-themes range from nutrition and aging to reproductive health in aging populations. The conference will feature a student video competition under the theme Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Aging Communities.   Know more about the Population Aging Program here. Find out more details about the Population Aging Conference 2021 here.

We are delighted to note an online seminar (webinar) series at which Hiroki Nakatani, the APRU Population Aging Program Director and Project Professor, Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI), brought together academics, practitioners and policy-makers to provide an intriguing overview of Japan in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and to gather proposals for key actions that need to be undertaken in preparation for a second wave. The four live webinars, under the collective title of “Japan and the World in the Era of COVID-19: Considering whether the new paradigm is a crisis or an opportunity,” were held between June 17 and July 29. The first three webinars focused respectively on Health and Science & Technology; Economy and Work; and Society and Law. A special presentation titled “Infectious disease emergency preparedness and response: Japan’s challenges seen from COVID-19” by H.E Senator  Keizo Takemi, Member, House of Councillors, National Diet of Japan kicked off the fourth webinar. A panel discussion which followed again saw the participation of H.E Senator  Keizo Takemi, who was joined by Takeshi Kasai, Regional Director of the WHO Western Pacific Region; Hideyuki Okano, Professor, School of Medicine, Keio University/Senior Researcher, KGRI; and Sachiko Kazekami, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University. This panel, under the moderation of Ryoji Noritake, CEO and Board Member, Health and Global Policy Institute, analysed the broad range of effects the virus has had from multiple perspectives, such as health science, technology, economy, work, geopolitical change, and law. The panellists examined Japan’s response to the first wave of COVID-19 infections, identifying vulnerabilities in the informational infrastructure as well as delays in innovations and their social application. The panellists also described current measures and proposed specific policies which should be introduced in the forthcoming six months. While discussing steps towards the suppression of COVID-19, Professor Okano emphasized the power of health science, and gave an overview of the “Keio” model as a flexible means of countering infectious diseases, as well as speaking on the university’s endeavours to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. He also added that: “[It has been pointed out that new pandemics may be triggered more frequently due to outbreaks of new zoonosis caused by ecological, behavioural or socioeconomic changes but also the spread of new pathogens that had previously been isolated in the permafrost of Siberia and Switzerland, which is now melting due to global warming]. we need to establish efficient methodologies to develop diagnostic, therapeutic and prophylactic methods; suppression of COVID-19 will be an excellent lesson to prevent us from future pandemics caused by new pathogens.” During the closing remarks, Professor Masato Yasui, Director, KGRI, stressed that “COVID-19 has wide implications for all aspects of humanity and society and is not a mere health issue. We need a cross cutting approach, and it is imperative that such multi-sectorial work be intensely promoted. KGRI is ready to expand such activities.” The entire series was presented in Japanese, with panellists answering pre-selected questions from the audience. A live wrap-up discussion was then held in English, and Keio University subsequently re-recorded most of the talks in English to share with wider audience. Keio University is a highly-valued member of the APRU network. Its Global Research Institute (KGRI) has coordinated many APRU activities and projects, including the APRU Population Aging program. Keio’s Vice-President, Professor Jiro Kokuryo, served for two APRU projects, as an academic coordinator for the AI for Everyone and an academic lead for the AI for Social Good.

APRU experts contribute to Nikkei Super Active Ageing Society Conference We are pleased to note the active engagement and support by APRU Population Aging Steering Group members Hiroki Nakatani and John Piggott for the Nikkei Super Active Ageing Society Conference held on October 15 in Tokyo, Japan. In the lecture focused on the impact of demographic change on labor supply and economic growth, Piggot, Director of the ARC Centre for Excellence in Population Aging Research (CEPAR) at UNSW Sydney, analyzed how APEC can meet the challenges ahead. The Nikkei conference was supported by APRU in collaboration with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW); the Financial Services Agency (FSA); and the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO). It immediately followed the 10th APRU Population Aging Conference hosted by Keio University in Tokyo. Hiroki Nakatani, special appointed professor, Keio University Global Research Institute, APRU Population Aging Program Director and Secretary General of the Nikkei conference, initiated the link between APRU and the Nikkei Super Active Aging Society Conference. Former Keio President Atsushi Seike also presented at the Nikkei event, noting that Japan is the first country in the world to have a super aging society, and that elderly people in Japan have a strong desire to participate in the workforce. Attended by leading figures in government, industry, and academia from around the world, the Nikkei event generated numerous proposals and recommendations for realizing a more active aging society. The 10th APRU Population Aging Conference, for its part, had over 100 participants from across the Asia-Pacific, including leaders from the World Health Organization (WHO), Japan’s MHLW and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as well as the health ministers from the Republic of Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. See the Financial Times for more information >>

We have arrived at an era where people are living longer. Along with this trend comes new challenges and the science, art, and practice of longevity is alive with a horizon of possibilities to highlight the benefits of living longer.  Radical ideas and interdisciplinary approaches have been introduced to understand the experience of aging from the perspectives of health, labor, housing, transport, urban planning, leisure, social participation, education and intergenerational relationships. This conference aims to bring together leading thinkers and practitioners to feature some of the best practices in the field of population aging.   Conference Thematic Focus: – Healthy aging – Interventions supporting at risk older adults in the community – Employment and employability of older adults – Ageing, technology and the environment Find out the program and fee, and click here to register today.   Graduate Student Conference: This conference serves as an interdisciplinary platform for graduate students to share their research and explore the possibility of collaborative partnerships. It will be held concurrently with the Scientific Conference in the form of a poster conference. Candidates whose abstracts are selected for the poster presentation are eligible to apply for partial conference support of up to SGD$1500.00 See submission guideline and content here. Please submit your abstracts before 10 August 2018 via [email protected]    For more information: Click here to see the conference’s brochure

Asia Pacific is one of the most dynamic regions in the world yet its workforce population is aging fast. Since the 2008 financial crisis, productivity growth of some of the region’s economies have been decelerating while changes on its technology front have been accelerating at an unprecedneted rate. Technological advances will surely reshape the future of work in the region. To better understand and harness the potential of new technologies in hopes of benefiting senior workers while equipping the younger ones with the necessary tools for their own future work, “Technology and Aging Workforce, Maximize the Gains from Longevity and Long Working Life”-themed  meeting was held on May 17-18, 2018 at APRU member institution Korea University’s Asiatic Research Institute. Over the course of the two-day meeting experts and scholars discussed a number of demography and technology-related topics, such as aging, demographic change and growth in Asia; aging, labor force participation, productivity and growth; the role of technology in aging workforce; demographic change, technology and its implication in Developing Asia; and regional collaboration on human capital development and cross-border labor mobility. At the workshop John Piggott and Rafal Chomik, representing the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Aging Research (CEPAR) at UNSW, both presented and contributed to the meeting by drawing on the CEPAR/APRU working paper, Demographic and Technological Change: Two megatrends shaping the labour market in Asia. The paper was developed in collaboration with the ADB and informed to a great extent the ADB report Tapping Technology to Maximize the Longevity Dividend in Asia published in May 2018. The event, jointly organized by APRU, ADBInstitute, Asiatic Research Insititute of Korea University, and ADB, served as an inception workshop, which aimed not only to evaluate the impact of demographic change and assess technology substitution effects on labor productivity; more specifically on youth and aging workforces, but also to discuss the education and training needs, and the role of regional cooperation in addressing the challenges associated with the impact of demographic change and coping with technological advancement. Please see meeting agenda here Please see the full ADB report here Please see meeting album here

On April 14 2018, the APRU Population Aging Hub held a high-level policy discussion on challenges posed by a rapidly aging society. The meeting was brought together by Keio University’s Global Research Institute, host of the APRU Population Aging Hub and initiator of the Keio-APRU Population Aging Hub Longevity Initiative. The meeting featured special guests Dr. Victor Dzau (President of the United States National Academy of Medicine), Senator Keizo Takemi (Member of the House of Councillors), Dr. Hiroto Izumi (Special Adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) and Mr. Yuji Kuroiwa (Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture). The meeting was attended by leading faculty members including Prof. Masayuki Amagai (Dean of the Keio University School of Medicine) and Prof. Hideyuki Okano(Dean of the Keio University Graduate School of Medicine and Leader of the Keio University Longevity Initiative). The event allowed for an open discussion among leading academics and policy-makers on challenges and solutions for improving health and happiness in a rapidly aging societies particularly in Japan, the United States and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Discussions topics included: – improved funding mechanisms at national and global level as a catalyst for research and innovation in the field of healthy longevity; – creating global synergies for technological and human resource exchange and capacity building; – the importance of preventative healthcare and education in reducing the social and financial cost of an aging population; and – developing effective indicators to estimate individual healthy life-span For a detailed meeting report and vidoes, please see here.

Hong Kong SAR, January 5—APRU’s Population Aging Program has moved to Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, entering the next phase of its growth. The move to Keio places the Program in the Asia-Pacific economy most renowned for a rapidly aging population. In a recent letter to university presidents, Christopher Tremewan, APRU Secretary General, expressed his confidence in Keio to continue growing the Population Aging network’s strength and impact through the leadership and expertise of Hideyuki Okano, Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine, and Hiroki Nakatani, Project Professor of the Global Research Institute at Keio University. Keio University is also home to both the Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research and the recently established Research Center for Financial Gerontology. These centers link research in medicine, economics, and engineering in its mission to address the challenges posed by an aging population. Previously, the APRU Population Aging Program has been hosted at UNSW Sydney for three years under the leadership of John Piggott, Director of the ARC Centre for Excellence in Population Aging Research (CEPAR) where it developed the foundations for its strong network of renowned experts. The Program notably worked with APEC and the Australian government, producing a policy paper, “The impact of demographic change on labour supply and economic growth: Can APEC meet the challenges ahead?”, briefing on the effects of population aging. Looking to 2018 and beyond, Dr. Tremewan added, “Keio University’s support for transdisciplinary, internationally-oriented research and education will enable this APRU Program to continue growing its activities to address a key regional challenge.” For more information about CEPAR, please click here. For more information about the Research Center for Financial Gerontology, please click here. For more information about the Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, please click here. 

The Asian Development Bank‘s Visiting Fellow Program provides an opportunity for researchers and academics to share their ongoing or recently completed economic research in ADB headquarters in Manila. ADB accepts applications year-round, but selections will be made on a quarterly basis. Female applicants and applicants from ADB developing member countries are especially encouraged to apply. The program offers visiting fellows the opportunity to: – Give a presentation or lecture on a research topic that is of mutual interest and relevance to both ADB and the visiting fellow. – Interact with staff from the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD) and other departments to discuss fresh ideas or methodologies on the selected topic and to give advice on ongoing or future ERCD research; and – Publish the research paper as an ADB Economics Working Paper, if desired. For more details about the program, please visit ADB Visiting Fellow Program web page.

The APEC International Workshop will enable member economies to discuss general issues on Population Aging of the AEPC region. Participants from international organizations, NGOs and UN organizations will present on potential solutions to address these. The workshop will facilitate best practice sharing with the aim to support the development of appropriate policies in economies across the APEC region in relation to social security, health care and economic growth. Delegations from member economies will have the opportunity to hear from experts of member economies such as Japan, Australia, Korea and Canada addressing key areas of aging societies. Professor Barbara Mcpake from the University of Melbourne and academic representative of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities will be talking at the workshop about financial resources for social protection systems in aging societies. The outcome of the International Workshop will be submitted to the Health Working Group and provide input to the Health Policy Dialogue on Promoting Healthy Aging & NCDs Control and other related meetings in SOM 3, August 2017 in Ho Chi Ming City, Viet Nam.   The Workshop objectives are: – to share the latest knowledge on the current situation of Aging in APEC including trends, impacts & challenges/opportunities, issues and concerns; – to share experiences on dealing with population Aging issues among APEC members and APEC partners; – to provide recommendations to APEC leaders and APEC members for relevant policies responses to aging and action taken on care for older persons, including recommendations of home based and community-based care models for elderly people.   See the Workshop Agenda. For more information about the Workshop, please contact Mr. Luong Quang Dang at [email protected].

Member economies of the APEC Forum need to do a lot more to promote economic growth to combat population aging, according to a paper presented at the Workshop on the Development of an APEC Labor Mobility Framework in Nha Trang, Viet Nam on February 18. Representatives from APEC member economies and global experts convened at the Workshop in Viet Nam to share views on the diverse factors which affect mobility of labor and skills in the region and to develop a way forward for the general APEC membership. The report by APRU experts Rafal Chomik, John Piggottand Peter McDonald, which was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Employment to APRU, aims to influence a regional framework on labor mobility issues. The report suggests that cooperation in migration policy, education, and technology transfer would allow emerging economies within APEC to increase rates of growth, countering the “headwinds” of population aging. APRU Population Aging Research Hub Chair and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), UNSW Sydney, Dr. John Piggott said that there appeared to be good opportunities for cooperating in the area of education and labour migration. Economies such as the US, Japan and Australia have large student cohorts from a range of APEC jurisdictions,” he said. Simplifying the process of deciding whether students from APEC countries meet specific criteria for admission to educational institutions, and also visas and associated documentation, would help in developing a better educated and globally mobile workforce for APEC”, he said. Professor Albert Park, HKUST and APRU Population Aging Research Steering Group member, also took part in a panel discussion that took place at the Workshop which was held alongside the 1st APEC Senior Official Meeting hosted by Viet Nam in Nha Trang. Experts from the Australian National University also contributed to the Workshop. APRU experts will continue to be actively involved in the next phase of the development of the APEC labour mobility framework, providing a foundation for policy making in APEC economies. UNSW Sydney, The University of Melbourne, HKUST and Australian National University are members of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, a network of 45 leading research universities that aims to address key social, environmental and economic challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC SOM1 2017 photos at: https://flic.kr/s/aHskS3u8Kg Download attachements below. Download attachments: Working Paper: The impact of demographic change on labour supply and economic growth PROGRAMME_Final1.pdf