Japan’s ageing and lonely population is reaching crisis point. What’s the solution? The director of Plan 75, about a programme of voluntary suicide, explains why her film is ‘far from impossible’

Japan is ageing faster than any other country in the world, boasting one of the highest life expectancies. Women typically live to 87 and men to 81. Almost 40% of its population is over 60, a figure expected to continue expanding as the population shrinks. Couples in Japan now have an average of just 1.3 children – far below the 2.1 children societies need to remain stable.

Japan once placed its elderly at the top of the social hierarchy, even holding a national holiday to honour their contributions to society. But no longer: Fumio Kishida, the country’s prime minister, recently said the ageing population poses an “urgent risk to society”. Announcing a new government agency to address the issue, he said: “Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society.”