{"id":236678,"date":"2025-10-24T10:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/236678\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T10:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:28:08","slug":"young-bodybuilders-lift-japans-ailing-care-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/236678\/","title":{"rendered":"Young bodybuilders lift Japan\u2019s ailing care sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

ICHINOMIYA, Japan \u2013 Muscles bulging, bodybuilder Takuya Usui settles a woman into her wheelchair at a Japanese care home, where jacked Gen Zs are helping to ease labour shortages in a struggling industry.<\/p>\n

Gender stereotypes and poor pay have long discouraged Japanese young men from becoming caregivers, even as demand surges in a country with one of the world\u2019s oldest populations.<\/p>\n

But Visionary, a firm based in the central city of Nagoya, has hit upon an unusual solution: luring male bodybuilders into the care sector with perks, including paid gym time and subsidies for protein shakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to find nothing appealing about this industry,\u201d Mr Usui, a former fitness trainer, told AFP.<\/p>\n

But then, \u201cI was told I can actually put my muscles to use in this job, and I thought: \u2018Well, let\u2019s give it a try.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Wearing a black sleeveless vest that shows off his tan and biceps, Mr Usui effortlessly lifts wheelchair user Madoka Yamaguchi out of bed, gives her lunch, brushes her teeth and helps her apply eye drops.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is so muscular that I don\u2019t have to worry that he might accidentally drop me,\u201d said 65-year-old Yamaguchi, who is unable to move her limbs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bodybuilder Takuya Usui helping wheelchair user Madoka Yamaguchi sit on a bed.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s reassuring,\u201d she explained from Visionary\u2019s care home near Nagoya for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

An acute labour shortage plagues the caregiving industry in Japan \u2013 home to the world\u2019s second-oldest population after Monaco, according to the World Bank \u2013 with nearly four vacancies for every job seeker.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s labour ministry estimates a shortfall of about 570,000 caregivers by 2040, driven by low wages that fail to match the physically demanding nature of the work.<\/p>\n

Men tend to stay away, leaving women \u2013 mostly those aged 40 or older \u2013 to make up over 70 per cent of positions in care facilities, according to labour ministry data.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stood out a lot for being male and young,\u201d said 40-year-old Visionary chief executive Yusuke Niwa, recalling his first job as a carer nearly 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

It dawned on him that \u201cbeing cool\u201d was key to igniting interest among young men, and he set out to recruit people who resembled his own role models.<\/p>\n

He considered, but ultimately dismissed, football players and martial arts fighters, before homing in on bodybuilders.<\/p>\n

\u201cBodybuilders are extremely photogenic, cool and the embodiment of tireless hard work,\u201d Mr Niwa said.<\/p>\n

It was in 2018 \u2013 a decade after he founded Visionary \u2013 that Mr Niwa unveiled the concept of \u201cMacho Caregivers\u201d, a campaign to remove the stigma around the care industry.<\/p>\n

Before then, the company had struggled to hire even a single carer a year, but the idea brought applications flooding in, including from young men.<\/p>\n

The firm says it hired 168 people in the fiscal year 2024 alone.<\/p>\n

Visionary now expects annual sales of 2.2 billion yen (S$18.7 million) for this fiscal year ending in March 2026, roughly a 10-fold jump compared with the period before 2018.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of new recruits are casual fitness enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bodybuilder Takuya Usui helping Ms Madoka Yamaguchi with her lunch.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n

But while all employees enjoy free gym access, the most generous benefits, such as two hours of paid weight training a day, are reserved for a select squad of competitive bodybuilders.<\/p>\n

Among them is Mr Hokuto Tatsumi, 27, a former serviceman in the Maritime Self-Defence Force enticed by the \u201cmost muscle-friendly work environment you could hope for\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bodybuilders are adept at enduring the tedium of daily training and strict dietary regimens, he said.<\/p>\n

That discipline \u201ccan be a great advantage for caregivers who support the same clients every day\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might seem simple but is actually quite challenging,\u201d Mr Tatsumi said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bodybuilder Hokuto Tatsumi helping a woman train at a care home for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n

In Japan, the need to care for ailing parents and other family members forces around 100,000 people to quit jobs every year, according to government data.<\/p>\n

And 300,000 more are forecast to juggle their careers with caregiving at home by 2030, the data shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat these workers are unable to fully realise their potential is such a tremendous loss,\u201d Mr Niwa said, adding that the care industry has to step up.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, wheelchair user Yamaguchi \u2013 who enjoys painting and beadwork \u2013 and elite bodybuilder Usui have built a striking friendship.<\/p>\n

\u201cMadoka here can\u2019t quite use her hands, but she uses her mouth (to control a paintbrush). I find that resourcefulness inspiring,\u201d Mr Usui said, smiling at her.<\/p>\n

Building more muscle was the motivation to sign up for the job, he said, but since then, \u201cI learnt there was more to caregiving than meets the eye\u201d. AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ICHINOMIYA, Japan \u2013 Muscles bulging, bodybuilder Takuya Usui settles a woman into her wheelchair at a Japanese care…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,407,84],"class_list":{"0":"post-236678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}