65-year-old father experiences part-time job to understand autistic children’s past work pressure

The 65-year-old Aber chose to work part-time not just to make money, but to learn firsthand about the past work experience of his son Dun, who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). (Image via AP)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] Tanaka Kenji (67 years old, pseudonym), who lives in Chiba Prefecture and runs a self-employed business, used the part-time software "Timee" at the age of 65 to experience more than ten kinds of part-time jobs, including light physical labor in warehouses, farm work, and cleaning work. He chose to work part-time not just to make money, but to understand firsthand the past work experience of his son Dun (pseudonym), who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the pressures he might have ignored in the past.

Japanese media reported that Atsushi had communication difficulties and impulsive behavior since childhood, but he successfully graduated from a boarding school and with the loving support of his teachers. With perfect math scores, he was admitted to a university in the Tokyo metropolitan area that provides support for students with developmental disabilities. At that time, Tanaka happily ordered rice cakes and distributed them to relatives and friends, thinking that his life was finally stable. With full support from the university, Atsushi joined the club and started working part-time, and Tanaka encouraged him to "work as much as possible." However, after entering his junior year, Atsushi suddenly failed to obtain credits and repeated the grade. In February 2020, in his fifth year of junior high school, he was sent to hospital and dropped out of school for beating his father. At that time, Atsushi blamed his father: "My father asked me to work hard, but as a result, I was under too much pressure and made my life a mess."

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In fact, the truth about debt and vicious cycle lies behind it. Atsushi revealed that a friend from college taught him how to use a credit card. He first borrowed 10,000 yen (approximately NT$2,000) to buy shoes. Then his financial situation deteriorated and he began to use multiple credit cards to withdraw cash. The debt quickly soared to more than 200,000 yen (approximately NT$40,000). In order to pay off his debts, Dun started to work overtime shifts. He often failed classes and repeated grades because he stayed up late and fell asleep in class. The additional part-time job increased his physical and mental burden, and his anxiety forced him to seek medical treatment and increase his dosage of sedatives and sleeping pills. Eventually, he lost control and was hospitalized.

As Atsushi moved into a dormitory, his mood gradually stabilized, and he transferred to a correspondence college and a B-category employment support agency, Tanaka was able to look back on the past.

In order to understand his son's feelings and past neglect, Tanaka started trying odd job websites at the end of 2024. He first registered on the gig website his son used when he was in college, but his application was rejected three times in a row. He thought it might be related to his 65 years old. After that, he switched to another odd job platform that required him to fill in a self-introduction. Because he mentioned that he was a black belt in wrestling and judo, he got the job of unloading goods. However, after the actual experience, he thought it was too hard for seniors, so he gave up after only doing it once.

Later, Tanaka met Timee through a TV commercial and signed up. Unlike other platforms, he said that Timee does not have a system to screen applicants based on age, disability and other characteristics, and will conduct job matching after application. After more than a year, he went to more than 10 working places, mainly engaged in light manual labor.

Through practical work time after time, Tanaka began to re-understand the work environment that his son had faced, and also saw that in the world of scattered work, it is not uncommon for people with disabilities like Atsushi to work.

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