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This study examines the health capacity to work among older persons in Japan—that is, how much longer older persons can work based on their health status using nationwide population-based surveys. We first examine how much older persons could work if they worked as much as those with the same mortality rate in the past (Milligan–Wise method). Second, we estimate how much older persons could work if they worked as much as younger persons in similar health (Cutler, Meara, and Richards-Shubik method). The results from both methods underscore a large work capacity among older persons in Japan. In particular, we observe a larger work capacity for the better educated and a negligible difference across regions. Moreover, we find an excess of part-time work, suggesting the need to enhance the flexibility of the choice of working style.

This paper presents an empirical analysis devised to understand the complex relationship between extreme temperatures and mortality in 16 Asian countries where more than 50% of the world's population resides. Using a country-year panel on mortality rates and various measures of high temperatures for 1960–2015, the analysis produces two primary findings. First, high temperatures significantly increase annual mortality rates in Asia. Second, this increase is larger in countries with cooler climates where high temperatures are infrequent. These empirical estimates can help inform climate change impact projections on human health for Asia, which is considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change. The results indicate that unabated warming until the end of the century could increase annual mortality rates by more than 40%, highlighting the need for concrete and rapid actions to help individuals and communities adapt to climate change.