Ageing Luxuriously

Designed for the silver generation who seek an alternative to the traditional living arrangement with their offspring, Sun City Kobe Tower sets a new benchmark for high-end senior living.

- Asih Jenie

Japan is the fastest ageing population in the world. International Longevity Centre (ILC), a global think-tank dedicated to addressing the issue of ageing and population change, estimated that people aged 65 and older make up a quarter of Japan’s total population.

And thanks to a host of factors – among them the high average life expectancy of 85 years and low fertility rate of 1.369 births per woman – this number is projected to grow to a third of the population by 2050.

Both Japan’s public and private sectors have been working hard to anticipate the inevitable arrival of the silver age.

Some call it a crisis, some call it a challenge, while others prefer to see it as an opportunity to reimagine life for the better.

Half-Century More (HCM) is of the latter kind. The company began looking into redefining senior living facilities in the early 1990s.

Today, it is Japan’s leading developer and operator of senior living communities known for facilities in which to age gracefully, comfortably and luxuriously.

HCM Chairman Tomio Kanazawa’s research on senior living some 30 years ago took him to Sun City, Arizona, United States.

Built-in 1960, Sun City is a 38km2 retirement community with a median age of 75 years.

When it was launched, it offered five home models, a shopping mall, a recreation centre and a golf course – a breakaway from the forlorn nursing home stereotype.

It attracted 10 times more of the crowd it had expected, and over the years, it became a seminal example of a retirement community.