Many Seniors in Japan Reluctant to Create Wills

The Japanese legal office Authense LPC published its 2023 annual report on wills, based on internet surveys and other data. It found that overall, 65.5% of those aged 50 or older are either “very interested” or “somewhat interested” in drawing up a will. However, the breakdown by age bracket shows that the level of interest declines the older one gets, from 71.3% among those in their fifties to 64.6% and 55.8%, respectively, among those in their sixties and seventies. Perhaps the decrease reflects a tendency to not want to face the reality that a will represents.

Only 8.5% of the respondents said that they definitely planned to make a will, while 25.1% said that they probably would, for a total of 35.6%. The three most common reasons cited for not creating a will were “I have a small estate,” “I’m still healthy,” and “it’s not really relevant to me yet.”

Among younger people, there was a lower level of intention to create a will at some point, with a total of 27.1% of those aged 20 to 49 saying they would either definitely or probably draw up a will.

The percentage of those who have already discussed a will with their children is higher among those aged 70 and over, at 18.3%, while 62.5% of that age group are either interested in discussing or intend to discuss the issue with their children. However, about half of those who have already talked about a will with their children do not actually intend to create one. This contradiction speaks to the low level of willingness among Japanese to draw up a will.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)