As a grandmother-for-hire, 69-year-old Taeko Kaji performs a variety of tasks from cleaning to cooking to giving life advice.
“I never get bored,” the resident told the ABC.
“I get to go out and have these experiences and that’s why taking this job was the right decision for me.”
By age, Japanese nationals aged 65 and over accounted for nearly 30% of the population, while the age group between 15 and 64 made up 60%.
In Australia, as of 30 June 2020, an estimated 16% of the total population was aged 65 and over. By 2066, it is projected that older people in Australia will make up between 21% and 23% of the total population.
Grandmother-for-hire services allow people to experience what it is like to have an older woman care for them in a maternal way, for as little as $60 a visit.
They also provide a work opportunity in a society that usually does not value the skills and experience of older women.
Taeko wanted to find a job to keep her busy after her dog died. Her daughter came across Client Partners. a “women-only handyman” company that is run by women and employs only women.
Chief Executive Ruri Kanazawa employs 80 women aged over 60.
Other services the company offers include interpreters and tourist guides or even renting a friend or an aunt and the customers range from men and women in their 20s to people in their 70s.
“Our grandmother staff members, who cook for the guests and act like a mother to them, help provide the motherly warmth they need,” Ruri said.