About once a week, 85-year-old Makiko Kimura opens up shop at Komamon, a snack and candy store in the residential neighborhood of Komae, Tokyo. On Kimura¡¯s off days, the store is manned by fellow members of the town¡¯s Silver Jinzai center ¡ª one of many community-based agencies where retirees and older residents can stay active. The word ¡°jinzai¡± translates to ¡°personnel¡± in English.
¡°At the candy shop, I have so much fun talking to the children,¡± Kimura says. ¡°I don¡¯t have kids of my own, so getting to interact with them is a great joy.¡±
The Komae Silver Jinzai Center is just one of more than 1,300 such branches across Japan. Open to anyone age 60 or older looking for part-time work, these community hubs have more than 670,000 members.
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