Japan’s ageing population problem might be the worse in the world, but it’s one that all developed economies are facing. The problem seems so intractable that Yale economist Yusuke Narita’s suggestion that the elderly commit mass suicide made international headlines. That is not a serious policy suggestion, but radical measures are needed. Charles Goodhart argues that instead of the state financing the day to day lives of retirees via a state pension, it should instead prioritise financing the increasing medical care costs of the elderly.