For the second time in a year, a Japanese contingent has visited the city of Bayonne.
In June, a film crew from Japan’s biggest television network toured Bayonne as part of a special program on Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds.”
On Oct. 14, a delegation from Japan’s National Association of Chairpersons of City Councils came to Bayonne for a much more serious reason, seeking to find answers here and in several other North American cities to an ongoing population crisis in Japan.
“We heard that the City of Bayonne takes good care of its senior citizens,” said Masatoshi Takata. “We wanted to know how to do it right.”
Speaking by way of a translator, Mayor Joseph Doria and City Council President Vincent Lo Re greeted the delegation and gave them a brief history of the city and its functions, before the group – led by Public Information Director Dr. Joseph Ryan – toured parts of the city including the 56th Street Senior Center, the former Military Ocean Terminal and various parts of City Hall.
One of the most significant problems in Japan is the aging of its population and reduction in the number of births. Nearly one out of five Japanese – close to 25 million people – are over 65, making this problem one of the key political issues that became the centerpiece of recent national elections in Japan because this fact could lead to social stagnation, overburdened pension plans and inadequate health care. The number of Japanese senior citizens is expected to double by 2021.
Japan – with a median age of 42.6 years – is considered one of the most elderly nations in the country and faces significant challenges for the future.
Takata and the other members of the 27-member delegation from 18 cities in Japan are touring North America looking for answers. City officials believe Bayonne was selected because the delegation wanted to see how a smaller American city handles the care of seniors. Bayonne also may have been selected because a delegation of Japanese mayors toured Bayonne five years ago.
“We have a population that is aging,” said Takata. “We have a birth rate that is small, and we are facing a big issue. We have the task of revising our welfare system and our pension system.”
Although the mandatory retirement age at most companies in Japan is about 60, the International Labor Organization says that 71 percent of Japanese men between 60 and 64 are still working. Healthcare expenditures in Japan are increasing due to age-related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
In a recent speech, Japan’s Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said the country needed to curb its social welfare spending growth in the national budget in order to stop the expansion of its public debt.
The subject has even been addressed by Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has pledged to curb the expansion of public debt, which is the highest among industrialized nations.
Adding to the problem of aging is the reduction in the birth rate. Experts on population claim that Japanese women need to bear an average of two children, but as of 2003 that average was 1.29. With the combination of fewer births and aging, Japan’s population is expected to begin decreasing in total number by 2007.
“We hope to listen to the unique ways to treat this cycle in a senior city,” Takata said. “We are looking at the medical system in the United States to give us good things to work on and there are many things for us to digest.”
Bayonne – with its 62,000 residents – has a senior population of 20 percent already, although Bayonne still has a strong younger population, Doria told the group.
“While Bayonne has a high number of senior citizens, we also have a high number of students in our school system,” Doria said. “We currently have 8,700 students in our school system. So Bayonne must provide services to both the old and the young.”
Doria also brought several key department heads who deal with the day-to-day activities of providing senior services in the city, and gave a brief outline of where seniors live and some of the services the city provides. The Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation – which also runs Head Start and other programs for people of various ages in the city – is charged with providing senior citizens with food through the Meals on Wheels program. This distributes about 7,000 meals per month. Bayonne has five buildings dedicated to senior housing with a sixth being built, Doria said, though also pointed out that many seniors live around the city in private homes.
Before the group took a tour of the city, Doria issued a proclamation declaring Oct. 14, 2005 as Japan Day in Bayonne, and exchanged gifts with the delegation. The group gave the city an ornamental plate that Doria said would be kept in the city museum once it is complete.
Lo Re gave a brief history of the city and government since the delegation also was interested in how Bayonne operates its municipal government.
Both Lo Re and Doria answered questions about their duties and the government, although one savvy Japanese councilperson asked Doria which was more important: his role as mayor or state senator. The equally savvy Doria replied that the senate was more intellectually stimulating, but that his job as mayor put him more in contact with residents. Members of the Japanese delegation also asked about the ethnic makeup of the city and the role new immigrants played in government.
While Doria said none of the newer ethnic groups currently have a representative serving in any of Bayonne’s elective positions, many are members of the numerous appointed boards throughout the city.
From Bayonne the delegation was scheduled to move onto Niagara Falls, Chicago and Toronto for tours there. One moving moment came during the tour of the Military Ocean Terminal, when Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority staff person Jasmine Hammond boarded the tour bus to help guide the group through the former base. Hammond, who had spent several years in Japan where two of her children were born, greeted them in Japanese and became an instant hit with the group.