Young bodybuilders help lift Japan's ailing care sector

Fit young men put muscles to good use in return for perks including paid gym time

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Muscles bulging, bodybuilder Takuya Usui settles a woman into her wheelchair at a Japanese care home, where beefy Gen Zs are helping to ease labour shortages in a struggling industry.

Gender stereotypes and poor pay have long discouraged young Japanese men from becoming caregivers, even as demand surges in a country with one of the world's oldest populations.

But Visionary, a firm based in the central city of Nagoya, has hit upon an unusual solution: luring male bodybuilders into the care sector with perks such as paid gym time and subsidies for protein shakes.

"I used to find nothing appealing about this industry," Mr Usui, a former fitness trainer, told AFP.

"I was told I can actually put my muscles to use in this job, and I thought: 'Well, let's give it a try,'" he said.

Wearing a black sleeveless vest that shows off his tan and biceps, Mr Usui effortlessly lifts wheelchair user Madoka Yamaguchi out of bed, gives her lunch, brushes her teeth and helps her apply eye drops.

"He is so muscular that I don't have to worry that he might accidentally drop me," said Ms Yamaguchi, who is unable to move her limbs. "It's reassuring," the 65-year-old said from Visionary's care home near Nagoya for people with disabilities.