This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

Old age, as Bette Davis once said, ain’t no place for sissies. Frailty. Loss of independence. Accidents. It’s into this last category that this Postcard falls…with “falls” being the operative word. Japan is a country known for its ingenuity as well as its respect for elders. So it should come as no surprise that the Japanese have come up with wearable airbags and safety diapers to cushion the inevitable spills of old age. If elders should lose their balance and pitch over backward, the airbags inflate to protect the vulnerable hip area and back of the head. At the moment, no airbag deploys in front. This is, perhaps, a future market niche. Meanwhile, the question is: Would you buy one for YOUR grandmother?

From the Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.