海角大神

In this sleepy, mountainous city, 85-year-old Yoshiko Zakoji starts her day with exercises before cooking rice and simmering vegetables for pre-ordered boxed lunches 鈥撎齛s she has done for more than a decade.

鈥淚 need to keep myself fit to continue my business,鈥� says Ms. Zakoji, who owns a shop in Iida, located 110 miles west of Tokyo. She calls it Waraku:听a name that evokes opening up to each other, and having a good time.

Zakoji opened the shop in 1992, after her husband鈥檚 retirement. She was a homemaker with no work experience, and 60 years old 鈥撎齤ust when her generation was starting to rely on the pension system.

Before opening day, she recalls, some people rolled their eyes. 鈥淲hat on earth are you going to start?鈥� they asked.

Female entrepreneurs are not the norm in Japan, which, despite a push for 鈥渨omenomics鈥� from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has among developed countries.听 but more than half of their positions are part-time or 鈥渋rregular,鈥� and many women are expected to stop working after they become mothers.

But before long, Zakoji had built more than shop: she鈥檇 created a community. Waraku sells traditional food, boxed lunches, and handcrafted goods made by locals and acquaintances, including disabled residents. She set up a nonprofit, too, offering classes on pottery and flower arrangement. And when some locals started to frown at newly-arrived foreign residents 鈥撎齱hose experiences reminded her of her own sister鈥檚 difficulties after moving to Canada 鈥撎齭he was inspired to start an international exchange, where volunteers help tutor Japanese, math, and other subjects.

It鈥檚 a benefit for Iida and some of its most isolated residents. But Zakoji鈥檚 adventure also highlights that of a number of older women forging new paths through entrepreneurship 鈥撎齰entures that often bring isolated neighbors together, and are redefining what a rapidly "graying" society can look like.

She encourages other elderly people to start their own business, or play a larger part in their local communities.

鈥淲hen people get together, something will start to happen, and something will be created,鈥� Zakoji says.听

Uneven playing field

In Japan, people aged 65 or older will account for 38 percent of the total population in 2065, up from nearly 27 percent in 2015, according to the Tokyo-based National Institute of Population and Security Research. Statistics like that concern many economists, particularly paired with the country鈥檚 birth rate, one of the lowest in the world. They are an underlying impetus for 鈥渨omenomics,鈥� as low-immigration Japan considers how to boost its workforce.

But 鈥渨omen in the 60s these days have more strength than the same age group a decade ago,鈥� says Atsuko Arisawa, the director of non-profit organization Rokumaru 60 鈥撎齛 play on the words for 鈥渟ix鈥� and 鈥渮ero.鈥� The organization helps women, especially those in their 60s, improve job skills and find work or start their own business.听

Traditionally, Japanese mothers have most responsibility for child-rearing, while 鈥渟alaryman鈥� corporate culture keeps mostly-male workers at the office into late evening hours. But even when kids are older, or have left home, women seeking a career face an uphill battle. Last year, the World Economic Forum ranked Japan on gender equality.

鈥淚t鈥檚 still very difficult for women to reenter the country鈥檚 workforce following the birth of a child,鈥� says Fumie Kuratomi, director of the Fukuoka Gender Studies Institute. 鈥淚f you are a married woman over 35 in Japan, it鈥檚 hard to find even a temporary job.鈥澨�

Abe鈥檚 government is 鈥渇ar from serious about creating work-life balance for working mothers,鈥� adds Ms. Kuratomi, who is also a sociologist at the University of Teacher Education Fukuoka.

In the autumn of their lives, many women 鈥渇inally reach a point where they can do what they want to do after staying at home to raise children and take care of their husband,鈥� says Ms. Arisawa, a former editor of a community newspaper. 鈥淭hey want to make their desire a reality.鈥�

For many of these entrepreneurs, Arisawa says, making profits is not the first priority.

鈥淪o many women want to contribute to a community and bring pleasure to others,鈥� she says.

Helping neighbors connect

In an area called 鈥淗ill of Hope鈥� in the city of Yokohama, near Tokyo, Maki Gomi, who has long volunteered to help local elderly people, opened Caf茅 Heartful Port at her home three years ago.

Since its opening, the 300-sq.-ft. cafe has drawn more than 10,000 customers, from teens and parents with babies to elderly people, and holds seminars and small concerts to help residents interact with one another.

鈥淲e need to make community-building more interesting,鈥� says Ms. Gomi.

With a community turning gray, and the number of nuclear families rising in a Tokyo suburb like Yokohama, such interaction is important. Elderly people and a family member looking after them can be isolated, says the mother of three grown children. Isolation is a problem for many young families, too: intense schedules that send kids straight from school to extra tutoring classes are common, leaving less time for activities that bring the generations, or the neighborhood, together.

Gomi had their first floor of the house renovated in order to launch the cafe, where she had cared for her aging mother-in-law until her death in 2011.

In September, the cafe will start听a program to serve those with dementia and their family members, while they have already had a monthly program for children in low-income families.

鈥淲e need a framework in which residents can help each other,鈥� Gomi says. 鈥淏uilding a community starts by raising local awareness of issues. A community problem should be solved within the community. It鈥檚 not a good idea to turn to authorities instantly.鈥�

Time for second chances

Some women who have already built their career also embark on later-life businesses. In fact, 鈥渨omenomics鈥� may have benefited this group most of all: since Mr. Abe came into office, workforce participation rates for women between age 55 and 64 Many of those positions are part-time or irregular, however, and labor experts say it is particularly difficult for this demographic to secure regular jobs.

Ryo Tsunoi had a hard time getting rehired after resigning her job as a public school teacher for health reasons. After she had found nothing but menial jobs, she decided, in her 50s, to start her own business. Ten years ago, she set up her bagel shop in Saitama City, a suburb of Tokyo. It鈥檚 called Koharubiyori听鈥� a balmy autumn day.

The former primary school teacher stresses she has enjoyed her business 鈥渂ecause I鈥檓 the one who decides everything.鈥�

Ms. Tsunoi鈥檚 shop and her family鈥檚 support was even featured on national television.

鈥淭hese days, more women want to become financially independent, so I鈥檓 often asked for advice,鈥� she adds.

On the southern island of Kyushu, Hisako Takada鈥檚 dream also had to do with food. And now, in her early 60s, it has come true: she and her daughters have just launched their own restaurant, Hidamari, in the city of Taku, and a natural food store in neighboring Ogi City.

The family had to rent a space in a public building to run an eatery for 3-1/2 years. Today, they have their own: a converted 106-year-old home.

鈥淢y daughters have been inspired by other female entrepreneurs around here, and have become very serious about running this business,鈥� says Ms. Takada, who used to be a product development manager of a major sushi chain restaurant. 鈥淲e鈥檝e received big support from locals as they think they have to revitalize this depopulated area.鈥�

For Zakoji, whose business is marking its 25th anniversary this year, slowing down does not seem to be an option. She says there are still many more things to do, especially to keep up with the times: 鈥淚 want to make a big change.鈥�