What’s behind Okinawans’ falling life expectancy?
Julian Ryall (Tokyo), Deutsche Welle
An influx of foreign influences, ranging from fast food to less exercise, the stress of modern life, as well as a loss of the traditional sense of “Ikegami” in younger people are all to blame. For generations, the people of Okinawa prefecture in Japan have enjoyed the reputation of being among the longest-lived humans on the planet.
What Is the Okinawa Diet? Foods, Longevity, and More (healthline.com)
Okinawa foods they eat – Bing video
Medical experts and gerontologists have flocked to these semi-tropical islands off southern Japan in search of the secret to the local population’s longevity, with most concluding it was a combination of a nutritious diet, regular exercise and the support of family and the broader community.
Today, however, that is changing. And while the wider Japanese population is living longer than ever before, the people of Okinawa are beginning to die earlier. And the blame is being pinned on younger generations turning their backs on the old way of life in the islands.
In 1980, Okinawa had the highest average life expectancy for both men and women, with men generally expected to reach at least 84 and women going on until the age of 90.
Life expectancy declines:
But that enviable record has begun to slip. By 1990, average life expectancy for Okinawan men was only the fifth highest of the 47 prefectures in Japan and by 2020 had fallen to 36th place on the list. Okinawan women were top of the prefectural list until 2005 but were down to seventh spot in 2020.
In the 2020 census, conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Okinawan men lived to an average age of 80.27 and women reached 87. Makoto Suzuki has a close interest in the subject; he is 89 years old and has been studying the reasons behind his fellow islanders’ longevity all his life.
“The life expectancy of the people of Okinawa is coming down quite rapidly and we
believe the problem is that younger people have failed to follow in the footsteps of earlier generations,” said Suzuki, who still works part time as a clinical cardiologist and is joint-founder of the Naha-based Okinawa Research Center for Longevity Sciences.
“The people of Okinawa have been influenced by the food and lifestyle choices of other societies, particularly that of the United States,” he told DW. Since Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, Okinawa has remained home to a large number of US military bases and tens of thousands of troops.
A culture of fast food and television over physical exercise has rubbed off on local people, he said, and the results can now be seen. “Typically, the Okinawan diet included lots of vegetables, local fruit, dishes such as ‘tofu’ and fish and meat, although in small portions,” he said, adding: “When I was a boy, we had meat about once a week and that is a habit
I have stuck with to this day.”
Related video: Inside Japan’s highly effective Lost and Found system.
“When I was younger, I would also do a lot of walking, climbing and archery, but I do not do so much now, mostly because I just do not have the time for those hobbies anymore.
Significance of Faith in Life – Happy Science Ikegami (happyscience-ikegami.com)
The importance of ‘ikegami’ – Loving where you’re out in Life.
“I also believe the concept of ‘ikegai’ is important to our lives, especially in older people,” Suzuki said, referring to the traditional idea of the reason a person has for living. “My job at the hospital is very busy and that is my ikegai,” he said.
“I also believe the concept of ‘ikegai’ is important to our lives, especially in older people,” Suzuki said, referring to the traditional idea of the reason a person has for living.
“My job at the hospital is very busy and that is my ikegai,” he said. “It is important for me to help people who are sick and I do not consider them my patients, I see them as my friends. But being with them also helps me as isolation and loneliness are very dangerous for old people.
“My wife died two years ago so now I often go to the hospital at night to be with other people as my friends are there.” Tomoko Owan, an associate professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of the Ryukyus, agrees that outside influences have had a negative impact on the islanders’ well-being.
“Okinawa has been famous as a place where people live well into old age, but that began to change in the years after the war,” she said. “People from overseas moved here and they brought their own cultures with them. Slowly, local people became mixed in with these newcomers and our diet and traditions changed.” Food is one important element that has altered, she says, but there are others.
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Lesson # 1
Everything isn’t always as it seems– Sometimes our circumstances take us places we don’t really want to be. They can be overwhelming and discouraging. In the movie Mr. Miyagi says over and over to Daniel ‘Everything isn’t always as it seems.’ In the beginning of their training Mr. Miyagi has Daniel son wash, wax, sand and paint various things around his house. Daniel son becomes frustrated, because he thinks Mr. Miyagi is using him as a slave to do his work for him. On the surface it looked like Daniel was being used to do Miyagi’s work, but in reality he was being prepared for something bigger. In this Karate Kid montage clip, Mr. Miyagi reveals why Daniel had been doing what he was doing
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Lesson #2
You are being prepared for something bigger– Just as Mr. Miyagi was preparing Daniel son for the fight, God is preparing You for something bigger. Mr. Miyagi didn’t tell Daniel son his plan, but he didn’t have to. Daniel son needed to learn Karate and he knew in order to learn, he had to trust Mr. Miyagi that he knew what he was doing.
We may not always know what God is up to or understand it, but we don’t need to. God knows better than anyone what we need, because he is the one who created us. His ways and plans are so much better and greater than mine. You are Loved my friend, that is the only part of God’s plan we need to know. “Do not be overcome by evil, however, overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
Lesson #3
Never Fight evil with evil, Fight evil with Good– No matter what evil tactics Daniel’s opponents tried to use, Mr. Miyagi was teaching him never fight evil with evil, it will never get you anywhere. The same way Daniel’s opponents were trying to steal, undermine, cut-off, kill and destroy is the same thing the enemy tries to do to us.
The enemies of doubt, fear, and discouragement would like nothing more than to keep you right where you are.
The definition of STUCK:
Satan Steals
Tries to
Undermine
Cut-off
Kill, destroy
No matter how many times Daniel’s enemy tried to knock him down, he kept getting right back up. He was able to persevere, because of his training and being equipped with the right tools for the fight. You are more than a conqueror fighting an endless battle.
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Keep Fighting the Good Fight
In the end of Karate Kid 1, Mr. Miyagi didn’t know Daniel was going to be the champion of the fight. In the process of his preparation, Daniel became stronger which enabled him to persevere in the long run. The lessons we learn in the Process are some of the most valuable lessons we can learn. You are being prepared for something greater, God will use your trials for something better. You can rejoice despite your circumstances because of God’s love for You. His love is so much greater than any amount of evil.
His love will Persevere. No matter how long and hard your fight may be, know that you are always Victorious in Jesus. Nothing the enemy can do can ever change what Jesus has done for us already. Jesus has defeated the grave, the victory against death has already been Won. God’s truth and love for you never changes, it always stays the same no matter what.
You were made for More.
Has the Enemy Tested Your Faith and Try to Keep You STUCK?
What kind of more is Your Life Filled with?
Lesson #1–Adapt to the circumstances. Dre and his mother moved to another land far away and with a different language. Although very difficult to adapt under these circumstances, Dre found a way. He started making friends and learning the language.
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Lesson #5–When blocking, be powerful and strong. Your first move in a self defence situation, usually a block, has to be strong to be effective. Mr. Han illustrated this with Dre.
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Lesson #10–There are no bad students, only bad teachers. So true, as Master Li was affecting every student in his organization with his poisonous attitude. Every one of his students was once a white belt and had the potential to be a good person, if only guided by the right teacher.
“This was an island society in which the family and community were always very important,” she said. “It was peaceful and, in the past, the people had little stress.”
A rural backwater in years gone by, many Okinawans have recently adopted the “hurry, hurry” approach to life that is more associated with mainland Japanese, Owan pointed out, while growing commitments to work mean there is less time for relaxation, for friends and family and a person’s hobbies.
Karate is closely associated with Okinawa and, to this day, many elderly Okinawans practice the martial art. Owan herself teaches karate in her university and says it is an indispensable part of her daily exercise routine. It is, she emphasizes, training for the body, the mind and the soul.
Yet younger generations of Okinawans seem content with their present way of life,
even if it means they are unlikely to live as long as their grandparents.
“This is the modern Japanese lifestyle,” said Shuhei Kohagura, a 39-year-old official
with the prefecture’s tourism agency, admitting that he puts in a lot of overtime hours at work every week, grabs a snack from a local convenience store for his lunch and goes out drinking after work with colleagues.
“I grew up with this way of living so it is comfortable for me now, even though I do complain that I’m too busy a lot of the time,” he said. “The traditional way of life here might sound appealing but I think it would be very hard for me to adapt to that because it is just so different to everything that I have become accustomed to.”
Pointing out that his own mother lived to be 105 years old, Suzuki stressed that he
intends to continue to work as a doctor for as long as possible. “I think the young people of Okinawa have failed to learn from their elders,” he said. “It’s unfortunate as they are not living so long, but our society has undergone serious changes in a short period of time.”
Okinawa fruit off a tree – Bing images
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
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