On November 10, the Japanese-German Conference on the "Inclusion of Elderly Citizens in German and Japanese Communities - Civic Engagement and the COVID Pandemic", organized by the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ) and co-organized by the Institute of Science and Engineering at Chuo University, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Tokyo and JDZB was held at Chuo University Korakuen Campus in Tokyo. JDZB Foundation Council member Yoko Takahashi, President of the Japan Philanthropic Association, represented JDZB by giving some welcoming remarks. On the following day, experts held a follow-up workshop on "Ageing and Long-Term Care in German and Japanese Communities" at the DIJ for in-depth discussions.

While "individual responsibility" and "joint responsibility" turned out to be sigificant issues when experts discussed active ageing, social inclusion, and caring communities in part one, during the second part of the conference it was said that social support patterns for elderly citizens during the COVID 19 pandemic changed and social capital evaporated because of social distancing. Thus, the pandemic had, next to the physical health risk, significant socio-psychological side effects for elderly citizen.

#DemographicChange