"Support for sustainable decision-making and arrangements that preserve dignity for everyone during and after lifeAs part of the "" project, we conducted a questionnaire survey on preparations and thoughts regarding tidying up in old age.
Introduction
Are you making any preparations for your own old age or for the eventual end of your life? Or do you know what wishes your elderly family members have regarding the final days of their lives, or how they would like to spend their final days?
In the unlikely event that something were to happen, especially in the elderly, the individual may be unconscious or have cognitive decline, making it impossible to communicate their wishes. For this reason, it is important to prepare for emergencies, such as organizing necessary information in advance and sharing it with key people. However, it is difficult to prepare for an event that can happen at any time. When it comes to the death of yourself or a loved one, the gravity of the situation and the number of things to consider can make it even more daunting.
How many people are actually preparing for their own old age or for emergencies? What hopes and worries do people have about preparing for old age and how to end their lives? We conducted a questionnaire survey of people in their 40s and older to find out their thoughts about preparing for their old age and the state of their preparations.
Survey Overview
Survey method: Internet monitor survey
Survey period: January 30, 2025 to February 1, 2025
Survey subjects: Men and women in their 40s and older
Collection status: As shown in the table below
Figure 1. Allocation and collection status
| allocation | Target number | Number of recoveries | Percentage of total number of recoveries | |
| male | 40s | 125 | 129 | 12.5% |
| 50s | 125 | 129 | 12.5% | |
| 60s | 125 | 129 | 12.5% | |
| 70s and older | 125 | 129 | 12.5% | |
| woman | 40s | 125 | 129 | 12.5% |
| 50s | 125 | 129 | 12.5% | |
| 60s | 125 | 129 | 12.5% | |
| 70s and older | 125 | 129 | 12.5% | |
| total | 1,000 | 1,032 | 100% |
Main results of the survey
Here are some of the main results of the survey.
Part 1. Preparations for cleaning up
"Even among those in their 70s, about 45% have "no particular preparations" for tidying up."
How many people have prepared themselves for emergencies? And what kind of preparations do they actually make?
Looking at the results of the questionnaire, nearly 70% of people under the age of 60 responded that they have "not made any particular preparations." Even among those in their 70s and older, 44.6% responded that they have "not made any particular preparations," meaning that only about half have actually taken action.
Among people in their 70s, who have a higher percentage of people making preparations compared to other age groups, when asked how they are preparing for their final moments, the most common answer was sharing with their family where they keep important documents, at 34.5%. In addition, just under 20% of people have prepared an end-of-life note and discussed in advance with their family about medical care, nursing care, funerals, inheritance, etc., in anticipation of the future.
Figure 2. Preparations for cleaning up: Multiple answers
2. Someone you can rely on in case of an emergency
"In the event of an emergency, the people you can rely on are your spouse or partner if you are under 60, and your children or children's spouses if you are over 70."
We also asked respondents who they could rely on in an emergency. We asked them who they could actually rely on in 10 situations, such as "guarantor when moving," "emergency contact other than those living together for home care services," "guarantor when hospitalized for elderly care," "consent for surgery," and "discussions about future medical care."
When the responses for the 10 situations were compiled, the most common answer for those under 60 was "spouse/partner." On the other hand, for those in their 70s and older, "children/children's spouses" was the most common answer at just over 70% with "spouse/partner" remaining at just under 50%. This suggests that as people get older, their spouses or partners may be in a position where they need care or may be separated, making it difficult to rely on them in the event of an emergency.
Additionally, just under 20% of people in their 70s or older responded that they "don't know" who they can rely on, or that it is "difficult to rely on" someone. There is an urgent need to consider how to support elderly people who have no one to rely on, such as those whose children live far away or who have no relatives.
Figure 3. [Stacking] People you can actually rely on: Multiple answers
Part 3. Thoughts on using a reference guarantee service
"Around 20% of people are concerned about the quality of reference guarantee service providers"
If you do not have family nearby to rely on, one option is to use a private guarantor service, but in the questionnaire survey, around 20% of respondents said they were hesitant to use such services due to concerns that they would not be able to judge the quality of the service provider and that they would cause trouble for their family if the service provider was of poor quality. This suggests the need for a system to evaluate guarantor service providers and supervise their services.
Furthermore, younger generations tend to show a stronger interest in using guarantor services, with just over 20% of people in their 40s responding that they would like to use the service if the cost were not too high, and that they would like to use the service so that they can spend more time making good memories without placing a burden on their family.
Figure 4. Thoughts on using reference services: Multiple answers (maximum 3)
Part 4. Hopes and worries about retirement
"More than 30% of people in their 70s want to prepare for the end of their lives"
Finally, we will introduce the hopes and concerns of survey respondents regarding personal arrangements in old age.
First, when asked about their hopes for tidying up in old age, the highest percentage of people of all age groups chose "cherishing time with family and friends, expressing gratitude, and sharing memories," with around 50% of those under 60 and just under 60% of those over 70. Furthermore, just over 50% of those over 70 chose "managing finances and organizing assets so as not to burden my family," showing that they want to tidy up in a way that takes their families into consideration.
Furthermore, 30% of people in their 70s and older said they would like to engage in so-called "end-of-life planning," such as "thinking about how I want to spend my final days, writing an end-of-life note or will, and preparing for my funeral."
Figure 5. Desires for tidying up in old age: Multiple answers (maximum 5)
On the other hand, when it comes to worries about tidying up in old age, more than 50% of people in their 40s and 50s are worried about whether their pensions and savings will be enough to cover living expenses and medical costs, and about their financial situation after retirement.For people in their 70s and older, more than 50% are worried about placing a burden on their family members to care for them, or about becoming unable to make decisions due to a decline in judgment ability due to dementia or other reasons, which is higher than for other age groups.
If one's judgment ability declines in old age, it may become difficult to make arrangements for one's own death. We believe it is necessary to consider what kind of support is needed so that people who wish to prepare for the end of their lives can do so without missing the opportunity.
Figure 6. Concerns about personal hygiene in old age: Multiple answers (maximum 5)
Conclusion
Through this questionnaire survey, we were able to get a glimpse into how people in their 40s and older are preparing for old age and getting ready to deal with their affairs, and what their thoughts are. In particular, the result that nearly 70% of people in their 40s to 60s and just over 40% of people in their 70s and older have made no preparations for emergencies seems to provide important insights for this project. We will continue our research to find out why it is so difficult to prepare for old age and the end of life, even though we know it will eventually come, and what we can do to make the end of life a happy one.
The report below summarizes the results, including some that could not be introduced above, so please take a look if you would like to know more.
