Japan is facing a dementia crisis can technology help?

"Elderly people aged 65 and over now make up nearly 30% of Japan's population - the second-highest proportion in the world after Monaco, according to the World Bank. The crisis is further compounded by a shrinking workforce and tight limits on foreign workers coming in to provide care. Japan's government has identified dementia as one of its most urgent policy challenges, with the Health Ministry estimating that dementia-related health and social care costs will reach 14 trillion yen ($90bn; 67bn) by 2030 - up from nine trillion yen in 2025."

"In its most recent strategy, the government has signalled a stronger pivot toward technology to ease the pressure. Across the country, people are adopting GPS-based systems to keep track of those who wander. Some regions offer wearable GPS tags that can alert authorities the moment a person leaves a designated area. In some towns, convenience-store workers receive real-time notifications a kind of community safety net that can locate a missing person within hours."

"Other technologies aim to detect dementia earlier. Fujitsu's aiGait uses AI to analyse posture and walking patterns, picking up early signs of dementia shuffling while walking, slower turns or difficulty standing generating skeletal outlines clinicians can review during routine check-ups. "Early detection of age-related diseases is key," says Hidenori Fujiwara, a Fujitsu spokesperson. "If doctors can use motion-capture data, they can intervene earlier and help people remain active for longer.""

Japan is experiencing a sharp rise in dementia-related wandering incidents, with over 18,000 older people leaving their homes and nearly 500 later found dead last year. The population aged 65 and over now approaches 30%, intensifying care demand amid a shrinking workforce and restricted foreign care labour. The Health Ministry projects dementia-related costs will climb to 14 trillion yen by 2030. The government is prioritising technological solutions, including GPS-based tracking, wearable tags with community alerts, AI gait analysis for earlier detection, and development of humanoid caregiving robots to assist daily tasks.

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