Major study abroad agents in Japan have recently seen an expansion of the study abroad market for Japanese older adults (over 50 years of age), who tend to be physically fit and keen on traveling and language study.

According to a report in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper[1], the number of Japanese seniors (those over 50) who studied abroad through a major agent “Ryugaku Journal” has doubled since 2000. Another major travel agent, JTB, has also seen a 20 to 30 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of over 50s joining one of their short study abroad programmes since 2013. An increasing number of foreign tourists coming to Japan is motivating many Japanese people to communicate with visitors in English. A number of people have also indicated their interest in working as a volunteer for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In Japan, 26.7% (3.4 million) of the population is 65 years old or above[2], and as the generation which supported the Japan’s economic growth in 1970s and 1980s, they are known to be relatively affluent. 71% of those who are 65 or above indicated they have little or no financial concerns in their lives. Their average annual income is 1.9 million yen (14,400 GBP), which is just below the national average of 2.1 million yen. In addition, seniors have 1.4 times (2.5 million yen; 19,000 GBP) more savings than the national average[3].

With fewer younger people and a large increase in the 50 plus generation, UK English language schools are advised to see these “Active Seniors” as an important market segment. According to a survey of 707 senior citizens (over 60s) by a Japanese travel company, more than half of senior travellers indicated that their major concern in traveling abroad is crime[4]. Therefore, in promoting senior targeted English language programmes, English language schools are advised to include information about safety (safety index, student survey, etc.) in their marketing messages.