Dementia sufferers gain purpose from return to Japan's workforce

"They work one hour each visit and receive a shopping voucher worth 1,000 yen for every three shifts, which they can exchange for products throughout the Seven-Eleven store network."

Slave labor.

Seems like the government wants to use these poor souls under the pretence of supporting dementia sufferers.

Dementia sufferers gain purpose from return to Japan's workforce

So government want to make workplace as elderly care?

Elderly people in long-term nursing care for dementia and other illnesses are increasingly being rewarded for work at convenience stores and other businesses that are struggling to find staff due to Japan's acute labor shortage.

Just make sure you count your change when you got to those convenience store, not sure they'll counted right.

Work until you die, mental competence issues not a problem. Here you can be in charge of this meat slicer. This is just well out of hand now.

Just make sure you count your change when you got to those convenience store, not sure they'll counted right.

If you read the details, they are not serving customers, so they won't be handling cash.

I worked in an Alzheimer’s ward. Anything to engage with them and get them interacting is beneficial. This is more a form of therapy than ‘slave labour’ and beats sitting in an armchair all day.

If you read the article you’ll learn that nobody is handling change or operating meat slicers.

What part of clueless, do the Japanese government know

"They work one hour each visit and receive a shopping voucher worth 1,000 yen for every three shifts, which they can exchange for products throughout the Seven-Eleven store network."

What the dickens!? You couldn't make this up, except they did way back in the age of Dickens. "Convenience" is the right word for the "dementiacare" provided by these stores and for the pittance offered to these poor souls in exchange for their time and labor. It's already high time for rich countries like Japan to establish a basic minimum income system for all citizens and end our era of exploitation and wage slavery.

This is excellent for these people. It is a service to make them feel useful. It is not the money. No store would pay someone a lot of money to clean down baskets, so stop being arrogant and mean, please.

One of my daughters is handicapped. She takes the train one stop to a small place where many of the adults like her with various degrees of mental abilities clean green peppers and bag them for several hours a day. They feed them, have special dinner parties and even beer is served. She loves the job and does not like holidays nor weekends due to no work. She can’t tell time, nor count money. It just doesn’t work in her mind. They pay each of the workers ¥5000 a month. It is not slave labor. It gives them a chance to be part of society.

By the way, special education in this country is fabulous. She lives close by with my ex.

""The feeling of purpose gained from working encourages people to become self-reliant and gives a sense of satisfaction""

Yes I agree, Just do them and the social services a favor, DO NOT suck their blood and have them pay 20% of their income in un wanted care insurance and income taxes, let them enjoy what they earn and may be pass it on to their kids and grand kids, and leave them alone.

I have no doubt that this is beneficial, but for pete's sake pay them minimum wage at least.

Seems like the government wants to use these poor souls under the pretence of supporting dementia sufferers.

and

What part of clueless, do the Japanese government know

I guess you did not read the article. The program was started by an NGO and convenience store owners:

The program was started under the Nanashoku (Seven Color) Project, jointly launched by care providers and convenience store owners to encourage dementia sufferers to engage socially and to add work to their weekly schedule.

If you read the article 

That's the problem. They did not read article.

Looks more like they are taking advantage of the elderly disabled people and pretending to be helping them.

You know its a sad state of affairs when you have dementia disabled elderly in their 60's to 90's that are energizing the stores in Japan.

Nothing against elderly or disabled .

Modern day slavery and tax deductions .

My father and mother volunteered at various places in the US to keep busy. Unfortunately, my mother was my father's long term caregiver. Stressful!

My father's dementia was a 12 year ordeal, but he could do relatively simple duties up until the last year of his torment. Only his last 2 years was he increasinly bed ridden. Sad since he had a PhD, but still, the work kept him active.

The article talks about paying them, so perhaps this is different.

The LDP cut funding for training schools for the disabled, bet they are regretting that, now dementia workers?

Waiting for the PA to announce “can the designated medical staff please go to the meat slicer area!”

Read the article, it’s not a very positive.

So what we really need to know, and what the article fails to inform us, because of weak journalistic standards, is how much the convenience stores benefit from government subsidy programmes for "employing" these elderly. If there are no benefits, then it could be a good public service.

Lots of these people have no control of their realm of reality, and can he exploited easily and some people that do not have dementia, are clinically worse off themselves, those that fall for conspiracy theories are mentally impaired themselves to some degree

Just wait and see job description will change over time. That's how its done here.

It appears the Japanese government wants all the elderly to continue working until they can't anymore. regardless of if they are disabled or not.

I think they are paid minimum and if you read, a helper from the dementia center is there to help. I believe the ¥1000 coupon is above what they earn as a thank you.

So many negative people here. One of the most rewarding degrees I studied for was Special Education. Some tough work but rewarding exceedingly above expectations.

If you want to feel like you are part of the human race, do some volunteer work. Help an old person across the street when they are still in the middle and the light is already blinking, engage a Down syndrome person on the train.

Stop just thinking about me, me, me!

Elderly people in long-term nursing care for dementia and other illnesses are increasingly being rewarded for work

That explains the lineup of the LDP.

"I enjoy coming here, and I am happy to see other people pleased," said Masako Kawashita, an 80-year-old who works at a Seven-Eleven convenience store in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. Wearing a company uniform and black apron, she performs tasks such as sanitizing shopping baskets.

Considering their history of labor abuses, it is par for the course.

Taki Mata

Minimum required wage in Chiba is ¥925/hr. Baito at a Seven Eleven in Chiba pays ¥960/hr.

They are paid the same as the other workers, which I guess is kind of the point.

*"They work one hour each visit and receive a shopping voucher worth 1,000 yen for every three shifts, which they can exchange for products throughout the Seven-Eleven store network."*

Time for a new abacus, it seems.

They get minimum wage and the dementia staff goes and helps. The ¥1000 yen coupon is a gift.

Many if you here sure are mean and show zero or negative compassion.

Please try to join the human race. You might find it rewarding and special.

ShinkansenCaboose

They get minimum wage and the dementia staff goes and helps. The ¥1000 yen coupon is a gift.

And where in the article does it say anything about being paid, other than the 1000yen voucher?

Many if you here sure are mean and show zero or negative compassion.

Please try to join the human race. You might find it rewarding and special.

Compassionate members of the human race do not take advantage of others by paying disabled elderly people 1/3 of the minimum wage to toil at manual labor.

Compassionate human beings would find more compassionate endeavors to provide mental stimulation for their fellow humans, such as art classes, music performances, service animal visitation, etc, as opposed to exploiting them to stock shelves at understaffed konbini.

Compassionate human beings would find more compassionate endeavors to provide mental stimulation for their fellow humans, such as art classes, music performances, service animal visitation, etc, as opposed to exploiting them to stock shelves at understaffed konbini.

They work in the conbini for one hour in their weekly schedule.

There is plenty of time for other activities. This gets them out and interacting with other people in a meaningful and useful way. Useful to THEM, not the customers or the conbini.

After years of working with Alzheimer’s sufferers, to be honest I doubt the work they do is particularly useful from a cost/labour perspective. But the benefits to them is beyond measure.

@ Gary: My info comes from sites that work with the handicapped.

garypenToday  02:13 pm JST

*Compassionate ***members of the human race do not take advantage of others by paying disabled elderly people 1/3 of the minimum wage to toil at manual labor**

And compassionate members of the human race do not make fully functioning talented people retire at 60 and give them one third of their original salary…you might say half, but not true, because their benefits etc. are all eliminated.

appalling slave labour

@Bob: We don’t deal with the thumbs stuff, but you deserve an infinite ups. We are compassionate as well. Thanks for giving to others from us.

You didn’t show up for work yesterday.

Show up for what? And where am I now here and why and what’s my and your name?

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