Aozora Bank, Ltd.
December 12, 2016
ＮＥＷＳ ＲＥＬＥＡＳＥ
Aozora Announces Results of Senior Citizens Survey
Slight Overall Decrease in New Year Gift Money Seniors Give Grandchildren;
Large Decrease for Kanto Region Seniors
~ Seniors give grandchildren an average of 7,900 yen. Average for seniors in Kansai region
1,500 yen higher than that of Kanto region seniors ~
Tokyo December 12, 2016 – Aozora Bank, Ltd. (President and CEO: Shinsuke Baba; Head
Office: Tokyo) (‘Aozora’ or ‘the Bank’) today announced the results of its latest Senior Citizens
Survey. This year marks the third consecutive year since 2014 that the Bank has conducted this
survey of approximately 2,000 people throughout Japan from the ‘Brilliant 60s’ generation, aged
55 to 74.
Brilliant 60s is the name given by the Bank to Japan’s highly adventurous and active senior
generation, mainly comprised of people in their sixties. The Bank is committed to supporting the
active lifestyles of its senior customers through the provision of asset management consulting
services.
Overview of survey results (See attachment for details)
1. Slight decrease in overall amount of New Year gift money (‘Otoshidama’) given to
grandchildren! Big decrease in Kanto region as east-west gap increases.
~Seniors give grandchildren an average of 7,900 yen. Average for seniors in Kansai
region 1,500 yen higher than that of Kanto region seniors~
★ The average amount of New Year gift money given by seniors was 7,900 yen per grandchild
(elementary school), a 300 yen decrease from last year.
★ The average for Kanto region seniors (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba) decreased
significantly to 7,500 yen (1,000 yen less than last year). The average for seniors from the
Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara) was 9,000 yen, the same amount as last year.
Results show Kansai seniors maintaining their lead from last year, while the difference
between Kanto/Kansai averages increased. Seniors in their early 70s gave the largest
average amount of 9,100 yen (300 yen increase), possibly a reflection of the age of their
grandchildren. Seniors in their 60s: 7,200 yen (1,000 yen decrease); late 50s: 7,600 yen
(1,500 yen increase).
2. “Fun” ranks 1st for “one Japanese character” used by seniors to sum up their
lives.
~“Endure” ranks 1st among senior men while “fun” ranks 1st among senior women,
showing a marked difference between men and women~
★ Overall, “endure” was 2nd, “happy” was 3rd, “hardship” was 4th, “regret” and “harmony”
were 5th, “sincere” was 7th, “wholehearted” and “tumultuous” were 8th, and “survival” and
“peaceful” were 10th.
★ For men, “fun” was 2nd, “happy” was 3rd, “hardship” was 4th, and “sincere” was 5th. Is
“endure” ranking 1st an indication of what senior men have put up with at work?
★ For women, “happy” was 2nd, “endure” was 3rd, “hardship” was 4th, and “harmony” was 5th.
Compared to senior men, senior women seem to have a more positive outlook on life.
3. For seniors, the ideal historical figure for the “10,000 yen note” is “Prince
Shotoku”!
~At 2nd and 3rd, respectively, “Sakamoto Ryoma” and “Tokugawa Ieyasu” were
equally popular with both men and women as ideal historical figures for the 10,000 yen
note~
Aozora Bank, Ltd.
3-1, Kudan-minami 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan Tel. 03-3263-1111
★ Overall, the most ideal figures from 4th onwards were “Oda Nobunaga” in 4th, “Tanaka
Kakuei” in 5th, “Toyotomi Hideyoshi” in 6th, “Sugihara Chiune” in 7th, “Himiko” in 8th, and
“Katsu Kaishu”, “Yukawa Hideki” and “Saigo Takamori” in 9th.
★ From 4th onwards for men, “Oda Nobunaga” was 4th, “Tanaka Kakuei” was 5th, “Toyotomi
Hideyoshi” was 6th, “Saigo Takamori” was 7th, “Himiko” and “Yukawa Hideki” were 8th, and
“Katsu Kaishu” was 10th.
★ From 4th onwards for women, “Sugihara Chiune” was 4th, “Oda Nobunaga” was 5th,
“Tanaka Kakuei”, “Toyotomi Hideyoshi” and “Murasaki Shikibu” were 6th, “Katsu Kaishu”
was 9th, and “Himiko” and “Fukuzawa Yukichi” were 10th.
4. The number one activity that seniors “want to engage in within the next ten years”
is “horticulture and gardening” followed by “English conversation” in 2nd.
~Number 1 activity for men was “horticulture and gardening” while number 1 for women
was “English conversation”~
★ Overall, in 3rd was “traveling to countries not yet visited” followed by “exploring Japanese
world heritage sites” in 4th, “golf” in 5th, “cooking” in 6th, “handicrafts” in 7th, “painting,
photography, poetry, etc.” in 8th, “guitar, piano, wind instruments, etc.” in 9th, and
“round-the-world trip” in 10th.
★ For men, “English conversation” was 2nd, “golf” was 3rd, and “traveling to countries not yet
visited” and “exploring Japanese world heritage sites” were 4th.
★ For women, “horticulture and gardening” was 2nd, “traveling to countries not yet visited” was
3rd, “handicrafts” was 4th, and “exploring Japanese world heritage sites” was 5th.
Media inquiries: Tatsuhiro Nawa, Business Strategy Division
Aozora Bank, Ltd.
03-5212-9252
3-1, Kudan-minami 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan Tel. 03-3263-1111
Attachment
Aozora’s 2016 Senior Citizens Survey
Purpose
This survey examines senior citizens’ awareness and actual use of money from various perspectives,
including lifestyles, post-retirement plans, asset management, travel, eating out, hobbies, children and
grandchildren.
Participants
Men and women throughout Japan aged 55-74: 2,074 people in total
Details
Internet survey conducted June 10, 2016 – June 13, 2016
Financial asset background
Average amounts of financial assets of survey participants: late 50s 15.48 million yen;
60s 20.28 million yen; early 70s 20.98 million yen
Average amounts of financial assets of households (2 persons or more) in Japan: 50s 13.25 million yen;
60s 16.64 million yen; 70 or above 16.18 million yen
Source: The Central Council for Financial Service Information’s 2015 “Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Assets and Liabilities”
1. Slight decrease in overall amount of New Year gift money (‘Otoshidama’) given to
grandchildren! Big decrease in Kanto region as east-west gap increases!
~Seniors give grandchildren an average of 7,900 yen. Average for seniors in Kansai
region 1,500 yen higher than that of Kanto region seniors~
Question: How much New Year gift money do you give each grandchild?
The average overall amount of New Year gift money given to grandchildren (elementary
school) was 7,900 yen per child (300 yen decrease from last year). (Graph 1)
Graph 1: Amounts of New Year gift money (amount per elementary school child)
(Participants = seniors with grandchildren)
40%
2014
2015
2016
30%
20%
10%
0%
0 yen
2014
2015
2016
950 people
855 people
881 people
Less than
3,000 yen
6.9%
9.2%
9.5%
6.8%
7.0%
8.1%
3,000～
5,000 yen
13.8%
11.6%
13.2%
5,000～
10,000 yen
33.4%
30.1%
28.1%
10,000 ～
15,000 yen
15,000 ～
20,000 yen
31.3%
32.2%
31.3%
1.2%
0.7%
1.5%
20,000
yen or more
6.6%
9.2%
8.3%
Average
(yen)
7,700
8,200
7,900
Maximum
(yen)
93,000
90,000
95,000
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% as figures have been rounded to one decimal place.
The average for Kanto region seniors (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba) decreased
significantly to 7,500 yen (1,000 yen decrease from last year), while the average for Kansai
region seniors (Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara) was 9,000 yen, the same amount as last year.
Results show Kansai seniors maintaining their lead from last year, while the difference
between Kanto/Kansai averages increased. (Graph 2)


Kanto region average (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba) : 7,500 yen (1,000 yen decrease)
Kansai region average (Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara)
: 9,000 yen (no change)
Aozora Bank, Ltd.
3-1, Kudan-minami 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan Tel. 03-3263-1111
Graph 2: Amounts of New Year gift money by area (amount per elementary school child)
(Participants = seniors with grandchildren)
(Yen)
Kanto
10,000
9,000
8,700
9,000
Kansai
8,500
8,000
7,500
7,000
6,000
4,000
2014
2015
2016
Continuing the year on year increasing trend in amounts given, seniors in their early 70s
gave the largest average amount of 9,100 yen (300 yen increase), possibly a reflection of
the age of their grandchildren (2014: 8,500 yen; 2015: 8,800 yen; 2016: 9,100 yen).
(Graph 3)
Graph 3: Amounts of New Year gift money by age (amount per elementary school child)
(Participants = seniors with grandchildren)
(Yen)
10,000
2014
8,000
2015
2016
6,000
4,000
Late 50s
Early 60s
Late 60s
Early 70s
2014
7,000
6,800
8,100
8,500
2015
6,100
7,200
9,100
8,800
2016
7,600
6,200
7,800
9,100
Aozora Bank, Ltd.
3-1, Kudan-minami 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan Tel. 03-3263-1111
2. “Fun” ranks 1st for “one Japanese character” used by seniors to sum up their lives.
~“Endure” ranks 1st among senior men while “fun” ranks 1st among senior women,
showing a marked difference between men and women ~
Question: If you were to sum up your life using one Japanese character, what would it be?
“Fun” was the most common answer overall followed by “endure” in 2nd,
“happy” in 3rd, “hardship” in 4th, “regret” and “harmony” in 5th, “sincere”
“Fun”
in 7th, “wholehearted” and “tumultuous” in 8th, and “survival” and
“peaceful” in 10th. (Table 1)
For men, “fun” was 2nd, “happy” was 3rd, “hardship” was 4th, and
“sincere” was 5th. “Endure” in 1st could be an indication of the long years
men have put up with the pressures of life, including at work.
For women, “happy” was 2nd, “endure” was 3rd, “hardship” was 4th, and
“harmony” was 5th. With fun and happy in 1st and 2nd, in addition to
“laughter”, not in the top ten for senior men, the results suggest that senior women have a
relatively positive outlook on life compared to senior men.
楽
Table 1: Ranking of the “One Japanese character which sums up seniors’ lives”
*Open-ended questions/ words in red are positive in meaning while those in blue are negative
(Votes)
Rank
Overall　(No.=2,074)
Rank
Men　(No.=1,005)
Rank
Women　(No.=1,069)
1
Fun
121
1
Endure
55
1
Fun
76
2
Endure
113
2
Fun
45
2
Happy
69
3
Happy
99
3
Happy
30
3
Endure
58
4
Hardship
55
4
Hardship
23
4
Hardship
32
5
Sincere
21
5
Harmony
22
6
Survival
19
7
Regret
18
8
Laughter
16
Regret
5
33
Harmony
7
Sincere
29
Regret
8
15
Wholehearted
Tumultuous
10
Survival
10
16
Tumultuous
32
Wholehearted
8
Ordinary
6
Peaceful
9
14
Wholehearted
14
Peaceful
28
Peaceful
Note: Ties within the ranking list may not allow for a 1-10 ranking
Aozora Bank, Ltd.
3-1, Kudan-minami 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan Tel. 03-3263-1111
3. For seniors, the ideal historical figure for the “10,000 yen note” is “Prince Shotoku”!
~ At 2nd and 3rd, respectively, “Sakamoto Ryoma” and “Tokugawa Ieyasu” were equally
popular with both men and women as ideal historical figures for the 10,000 yen note ~
Question: If the portrait on the 10,000 yen note were to be changed, which historical figure would be ideal?
“Prince Shotoku”, who appeared on the 10,000 note for many years during the Showa
period, ranking 1st for both men and women is perhaps a sign of the deep nostalgia that
seniors feel towards that note.
One striking feature about the results is the fact that “Sakamoto Ryoma” and “Tokugawa
Ieyasu” ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively, for both men and women, while 4th onwards
varied greatly for both men and women.
From 4th onwards, a difference could be seen in the way votes were concentrated around
“Oda Nobunaga”, “Tanaka Kakuei”, and “Saigo Takamori”, etc. for men, and “Sugihara
Chiune” and “Murasaki Shikibu”, etc. for women. The number of respondents who answered
“none” in regard to the ideal person was 1,330 (64% of total respondents). (Table 2)
Table 2: Ranking of “Ideal historical figure for the 10,000 yen note portrait”
*Open-ended questions/excluding “none” answers
(Votes)
Rank
Overall　(No.=2,074)
Rank
1
Prince Shotoku
137
2
Sakamoto Ryoma
3
Tokugawa Ieyasu
4
5
6
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
7
Sugihara Chiune
8
Himiko
16
Rank
1
Prince Shotoku
106
2
Sakamoto Ryoma
73
3
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Oda Nobunaga
36
4
Oda Nobunaga
Tanaka Kakuei
23
5
Tanaka Kakuei
21
6
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
13
20
7
Saigo Takamori
12
Katsu Kaishu
9
Men　(No.=1,005)
Yukawa Hideki
15
8
10
Saigo Takamori
Himiko
Yukawa Hideki
Katsu Kaishu
76
Women　(No.=1,069)
1
Prince Shotoku
55
2
Sakamoto Ryoma
51
42
3
Tokugawa Ieyasu
31
25
4
Sugihara Chiune
14
15
5
Oda Nobunaga
11
6
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
11
9
Tanaka Kakuei
8
Murasaki Shikibu
9
10
Katsu Kaishu
Himiko
Fukuzwa Yukichi
Note: Ties within the ranking list may not allow for a 1-10 ranking
Aozora Bank, Ltd.
61
3-1, Kudan-minami 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan Tel. 03-3263-1111
6
5
4. The number one activity that seniors “want to engage in within the next ten years”
is “horticulture and gardening” followed by “English conversation” in 2nd.
~Number 1 activity for men was “horticulture and gardening” while number 1 for women
was “English conversation”~
Question: What activity do you want to invest time and passion into within the next ten years?
Overall, in 3rd was “traveling to countries not
yet visited” followed by “exploring Japanese
world heritage sites” in 4th, “golf” in 5th,
“cooking” in 6th, “handicrafts” in 7th, “painting,
photography, poetry, etc.” in 8th, “guitar, piano,
wind
instruments,
etc.” in
9th,
and
“round-the-world trip” in 10th. Results show a
glimpse of the spirit of seniors who want to take
on challenges they were previously unable to
engage in, including large-scale activities.
For men, “English conversation” was 2nd, “golf”
was 3rd, and “traveling to countries not yet
visited” and “exploring Japanese world heritage
sites” were 4th, while for women “horticulture
and gardening” was 2nd, “traveling to countries
not yet visited” was 3rd, “handicrafts” was 4th,
and “exploring Japanese world heritage sites”
was 5th.
Furthermore, the fact that “horticulture and gardening” ranked 1st for senior men and
“cooking” was also in the top ten shows that senior men wish to spend leisure time at home,
and have a secret desire to help their wives around the home. (Table 3)
Table 3: Ranking of “Activities that seniors want to engage in within the next ten years”
*Excluding “Other” answers
(%)
Overall　(No.=2,074)
Men　(No.=1,005)
Rank
Women　(No.=1,069)
1
Horticulture and gardening
11.8 Horticulture and gardening
2
English conversation
10.3 English conversation
3
Traveling to countries not yet visited
8.1 Golf
4
Exploring Japanese world heritage sites
6.7 Traveling to countries not yet visited
5
Golf
4.7 Exploring Japanese world heritage sites
6
Cooking
4.6 Painting, photography, poetry, etc.
5.0 Cooking
7
Handicrafts
4.2 Visiting previous places of residence
3.4 Dancing
3.6
8
Painting, photography, poetry, etc.
3.8 Guitar, piano, wind instruments, etc.
3.3 Guitar, piano, wind instruments, etc.
3.4
9
Guitar, piano, wind instruments, etc.
3.3 Cooking
10
Round-the-world trip
3.2 Round-the-world trip
12.5 English conversation
9.4 Horticulture and gardening
8.4 Traveling to countries not yet visited
6.6
11.1
11.0
9.6
Handicrafts
8.0
Exploring Japanese world heritage sites
6.8
Round-the-world trip
3.2 Volunteering and contributing to society
5.9
3.3
3.0
Taking part in school/circle reunions
*Respondents selected up to 3 answers from a list of 30 choices
Aozora Bank, Ltd.
3-1, Kudan-minami 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan Tel. 03-3263-1111