ABSTRACT
The new millennium and the twenty-first century confront us with numer ous challenges related to the aging of societies in the modem world. Popu lation projections for the year 2020 show that in much of Western Europe, including the Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom, and Spain, the age group of 65+ will constitute 17-18 percent of the population, and the 80+ age group will be about 4 percent (OECD, 1996). In the United States, the projections are similar to those for Western Europe (Treas, 1995). Japan may be one of the most rapidly aging societies in the modem world. In 2000, the 65+ age group already constituted 17.2 percent of the popula tion, but it is projected that by 2050 the 65+ group will be about a third of the total population and the 75+ age group will be close to 19 percent of Japan's population (Kojima, 2000).
