Digital Transformation and Well-Aging Strategies in East Asia

Taeil, Yifan, Naoko, and Fangrong, along with their contributors, examine how China, Korea, and Japan are leveraging digital technologies to address unprecedented demographic shifts in their aging populations. This book offers a comparative and policy-oriented examination of how digital technologies and artificial intelligence are transforming aging societies in East Asia. Focusing on China, South Korea, and Japan, it brings together interdisciplinary perspectives to analyze how governments are responding to population aging through digital health, long-term care innovation, community-based services, and everyday digital support for older adults. A key feature of the book is its integrated framework, which links technological change with intergenerational relations, welfare institutions, and digital inclusion, rather than treating technology as a purely technical solution. The book combines national policy analysis with local case studies and thematic syntheses, allowing readers to understand both structural differences and shared challenges across countries. An essential book for academics and researchers of social policy, public administration, gerontology, and digital governance, as well as policymakers and practitioners engaged in aging and welfare reform. Readers will benefit from empirically grounded insights, comparative perspectives, and policy-relevant lessons for designing inclusive, sustainable, and human-centered digital strategies in aging societies.

Taeil Kim is a Professor at the Department of Public Administration, Korea University, and a former Director of the Institute on Aging, Korea University, South Korea. Yifan Yang is a Professor at Southwest Jiaotong University, Doctoral Supervisor, Vice Dean of the National Interdisciplinary Institute on Ageing, and a Member of the Expert Committee of the National Working Committee of Ageing, China. Naoko Iwasaki is a Professor at the Institute of Digital Government, Waseda University, Japan, and is the President of the International Academy of CIO, Japan. Fangrong He is a Research Professor at the Institute on Aging, Korea University, South Korea.

Part 1: Rethinking Aging in the Digital Era: East Asian Perspectives 1. Embracing Innovation: Exploring Digital Solutions for Aging Societies in Three East Asian countries. Taeil Kim 2. Technological progress in aging society in China, Japan, and South Korea Yang Yifan and Yu Shuang 3. The Integration between the Digital and Ageing Society Naoko Iwasaki Part 2: Digital Transformation of Healthcare and Long-Term Care in East Asia 4. Digital Care Policies for Aging in China: Features, Innovation, Implementation, and Market Realities Shuangshuang Wang, Xiaofan Wei, and Xiaofeng Xu 5. Digital Health Policy for Well-Aging in Korea Taek Sik Kim 6. Elderly policy (medical care, long-term care, health) in Japan Yamada Eiji Part 3. Digital Practices of Aging in East Asia 7. Government-Enterprise-Society Collaboration: The Practice of Digital Technology Solving the Aging Dilemma in China Yu Song and Xinying He 8. Digital Transformation of Social Services for Older People in Korea: Policy Evolution, Field Applications, and Future Challenges Yeong-ran Park 9. DigiTech Innovations and Their Applications in Addressing Japan's Aging Society Toshio Obi Part 4: Bridging the Digital Divide in Aging Societies 10. Policy and Practice Exploration of Digital Literacy Education for Chinese Older Adults Yaping Hu and Shuang Yu 11. Policies and Current Status of Digital Inclusion Among Older Adults in Korea Fangrong He and Taeil Kim 12. Super-Aged Society and the Digital Divide in Japan Naoko Iwasaki Part 5: Local Governance and Regional Inequality in Digital Aging 13. China's Rural Digital Elderly Care Policy: Local Implementations and Structural Innovations Xiao Zhu and Hongping Lin 14. The role of local governments in digital integration in an aging society WooJoung Shim 15. Local digitalization projects addressing the needs of aging communities in rural Japan: enabling mechanism of national policy support. Diana Ishmatova Part 6: Conclusion: Comparative Insights and Future Directions for Digital Aging in East Asia Conclusion: Implications and Future Tasks of the Three-Country Case Study Yifan Yang, Taeil Kim amd Naoko Iwasaki