Plan 75

To cope with an ageing population, the Japanese government is introducing the Plan 75 programme in which it offers its citizens over the age of 75 the financial and logistical support for their wish to undergo euthanasia. The dystopian drama is Japan's entry for the Oscar for Best International Film.

With 30% of Japan’s population over the age of 65 and one of the lowest birth rates in the world, Japan faces a historic economic and healthcare crisis. Plan 75 presents a near future in which the Japanese governement formulates an utterly clinical solution: citizens aged 75-plus can voluntarily euthanise themselves for the good of society. Those who volunteer may receive a cash gift for that final-fling holiday, a free funeral, or even the chance to die in a five-star spa resort.

The plan seems to work, with government facilities crowded with seniors like the charming 78-year-old Michi (played by veteran actress Chieko Baisho), a retired cleaning lady whose means of survival are vanishing. Employees like Hiromu and Filipina migrant worker Maria both benefit professionally from euthanising the elderly, but beneath the surface everyone is left questioning the morality of it all.