Japan has the fastest aging population in the world. Among the industrialized society, Japan's population of individuals aged 65 and above was 20.8% of the total population in 2006 ( Hirakawa, 2012 ). This was by far the highest rate in the industrialized world, which is still increasing. It is estimated that by 2040, the number will have risen to 1.7 million as compared to 1.1 million in 2007 ( Hirakawa, 2012 ). The culture and religion in Japan on de ath and dying varies signific antly from the culture in America.
In Japan, the elders are revered as people become more important with old age. The elderly individuals accept the medical professionals' decisions and also let their family members make decisions for them once they lose their decision-making capacity ( Hirakawa, 2012 ). In contrast, the US culture varies from that of the Japanese. In the US, culture allows for the patient's autonomy, which is greatly valued ( Hirakawa, 2012 ). Patients decide on the type of medical treatments they get by giving their advanced directives ( Waldrop, 2011 ). However, those without these documents end up getting coerced by their relatives to choose a different type of medical care, especially towards their death.
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Religion also affects how the Japanese are treated. The Japanese position statement on geriatrics provides its citizens with the ability to choose the type of palliative care they will receive. Depending on the individual's preferences, they can choose to receive Kampo, the traditional Japanese system of healing, biomedicine, or healing at the religious institutions ( Ohnuki-Tierney , 2020). The US religion impacts the aging population's decision on death and dying. The country has people with different religious affiliations that influence their choices on medicine and treatments ( Richardson, 2014 ). It also influences decisions taken by the elderly since people will opt for choices that they feel do not go against their religious views.
References
Hirakawa, Y. (2012). Palliative care for the elderly: A Japanese perspective. Contemporary and innovative practice in palliative care, 271-290.
Ohnuki-Tierney, E. (2020). Healing And Medicine: Healing And Medicine In Japan
Richardson, P. (2014). Spirituality, religion, and palliative care. Ann Palliat Med, 3(3), 150-9.
Waldrop, D. P. (2011). Denying and defying death: The culture of dying in 21st century America.
