We all know that teenagers spend hours on their video games, but in Japan, it seems that much older people are also becoming addicted to computer games.
As Japan’s birth rate falls and the population ages, many more people in their fifties and sixties are looking for ways to stay active and remain alert. The companies that produce computer games are making more products that are designed to stimulate the brains of older users.
They say that these games can help the brain to stay young. Millions of people have bought them in Japan and now they are coming to Europe.
All over Japan older people are going to classes where they learn how to operate computers and play the games. Many of them have never used a computer before. They use special software that is designed to stimulate their brains and exercise their fingers. In some of the games, the player has to solve mathematical problems and in others play sports, like golf, to improve hand-to-eye coordination.
“My children can all play these games and I wanted to join in,” Shinji Yoshimura, a bank manager from Tokyo, explains.
“I thought it was going to be difficult but it’s quite easy,” say, Emiko Hito, a housewife from Osaka.
Doctors cannot prove that these games stop the brain from aging, but people are ready to try anything that could help them. It seems to be something that has Japan hooked