While the Philippines has one of the youngest populations in Asia and perhaps even the world, Japan conversely has one of the oldest. In 2009, around 29 percent of the country's population was older 65 years old. And by 2050, it's expected that this proportion will rise to nearly 40 percent.
Click to view in full screen. With a larger percentage of the population of senior citizens dependent on an increasingly smaller workforce of young Japanese, Japan is bracing itself for the future economic impact of its aging population, an impact of course that could be softened with less restrictive immigration policies. Yet Japan's elderly still strive to contribute meaningfully to society, even into their golden years. Many senior citizens do volunteer work after they retire. On a trip to Japan some months ago, a GMA News Online team were guided by elderly volunteers during visits to a number of historic temples in Nara and Sakai City. In recent months, a group of elderly Japanese even volunteered to help defuse the radiation-contaminated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, since older persons' cells divide more slowly than those of younger persons. This photo essay by GMA News Online photo editor Joe Galvez depicts slices of life of Japan's elderly. The photographs were taken during a two week visit to Sakai City late last year. Sakai City is located around 20 minutes from Osaka and is home to more than 155,000 senior citizens -- around 20 percent of the city's population. In Sakai City, senior citizens are quite self-sufficient, and can be seen working, biking, shopping, and strolling about the city.
-PF/HS, GMA News Online 
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