Plan for Japanese to retire in N.Z.

Press, 11 September 1986, Page 31

Plan for Japanese to retire in N.Z.

NZJN Tokyo Elderly Japanese couples may be allowed to retire in New Zealand by 1990 if a Japanese company’s plans for a retirement village located in New Zealand are approved by the Government. The plans have been drawn up by the Tokyobased Kimura Shoji Company, and are based on a concept developed by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Mr Hiroshi Kimura, president of Kimura Shoji, a family-owned trading company specialising in plastics manufacture, is visiting New Zealand for a week from September 12 to explain the plans to the Government. Mr Kimura said the

Japanese Trade Ministry had decided New Zealand was not suitable for a retirement village, or "silver town,” because of the country’s strong “white, Western orientation.” But he believed New Zealand would be ideal for elderly Japanese because of the geographical and climatic similarities of both countries. Mr Kimura said he intends to promote the project on a private basis, and is looking for New Zealand business partners. Mr Kimura’s draft plans call for the establishment of two companies to handle the project. One company would be based in Tokyo, the other in New Zealand. The initial capital fund for the project would be

two billion yen ($26.6 million). He said that the retirement village probably would have to be expanded to accommodate elderly couples from other countries to persuade the Government to revises an immigration law restricting immigrants to those under 45 years of age.

He did not believe the Government would specially revise the law for Japanese. “Most Japanese retireees have a pension of 200,00(1 yen ($2660 month). They could have a rich life in New Zealand," Mr Kimura said.

Japan’s top advertising agency, Dentsu Inc., has offered to run a publicity progrmame for Mr Kimura’s New Zealand plans. Apart from Kimura Shoji, Mr Kimura’s business interests include Unity Corporation; a Japanese company trading mostly with Hungary. Meanwhile, the Japanese Trade Ministry’ is looking at locations in the United States, South America, and Europe as potential settlement areas for Japan’s rapidly ageing population.