Kill Japan's elderly? Cannes film probes chilling idea

May 22, 2022 | News On Japan

May 22, 2022 (rfi.fr) - A Japanese film-maker is shaking Cannes film audiences to the core with a dystopian vision of her country in which old people agree to be euthanised to solve the challenge of a rapidly ageing population.

"Plan 75" by Japanese director and writer Chie Hayakawa is based on a very real problem.

Japan is the most rapidly-ageing industrial society, a trend that is causing huge economic and political problems as a dwindling number of younger people must support a growing army of the old.

Close to 30 percent of Japan's population is over 65, the majority women, and that rate is expected to continue rising in coming decades.

In the movie, anybody over 75 is encouraged to sign up for a deal with the government by which they receive a sum of money in return for agreeing to be euthanised. A collective funeral is thrown in for free.

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