THE FUTURE OF MONEY Bernard A. Lietaer - library.uniteddiversity ...

independent living for all these years, and his wisdom and life
experience are respected by his family and neighbors.
'Good evening, Yamada-san,' says me student. 'I have brought your
favorite fish stew, Yosenebe, as you like it.' Mr. Yamada smiles back.
Life can be beautiful at 109, even on the meager pension of a longretired
bank clerk.
Japan has one of the fastest-ageing populations of the developed
world. Already today, some 1.8 million elderly or handicapped
Japanese need daily care. By the year 2005, the population over 65
years of age will reach 18.5% of the total.
On his retirement, Mr. Tsutomu Hotta, a highly respected former
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, decided to do something
about this problem. He created a private organization called the
Sawayaka Welfare Institute in 1995, that has been implementing a
special currency called Hureai Kippu (literally 'Caring Relationship
Tickets'). The unit of account is an hour of service. Different kinds of
services have different valuations (e.g. shopping or food preparation
for an elderly person is valued at a Lower hourly rate than body care
for them). About 100 different non- profit organizations agreed to use
the same standard unit. The people providing the services can
accumulate the credits in a 'healthcare time savings account' on
which they may draw when they need credits for themselves, for
example if they are ill. These credits complement the normal
healthcare insurance programme payable in yen, the Japanese
national currency. In addition, many prefer to transfer part or all of
their Hureai Kippu credits to their parents who may live in another
part of the country. Two private electronic clearing houses have
sprung up to perform such transfer on a regional level. The Japanese
government is currently evaluating the possibility of creating an