In this sleepy， mountainous city， 85-year-old Yoshiko Zakoji starts her day with exercises before cooking rice and simmering vegetables for pre-ordered boxed lunches—as she has done for more than a decade.1
　　“I need to keep myself fit to continue my business，” says Ms. Zakoji， who owns a shop in Iida2， located 110 miles west of Tokyo. She calls it Waraku： a name that evokes opening up to each other， and having a good time.3
　　Zakoji opened the shop in 1992， after her husband’s retirement. She was a homemaker with no work experience， and 60 years old—just when her generation was starting to rely on the pension system.4
　　Before opening day， she recalls， some people rolled their eyes. “What on earth are you going to start？” they asked.
　　Female entrepreneurs are not the norm in Japan， which， despite a push for “womenomics” from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe， has one of the biggest employment gender gaps among developed countries.5 About two-thirds of women now work， but more than half of their positions are part-time or “irregular，”6 and many women are expected to stop working after they become mothers.
　　But before long， Zakoji had built more than a shop： she’d created a community. Waraku sells traditional food， boxed lunches， and handcrafted goods made by locals and acquaintances， including disabled residents. She set up a nonprofit， too， offering classes on pottery and flower arrangement.7 And when some locals started to frown at newlyarrived foreign residents—whose experiences reminded her of her own sister’s difficulties after moving to Canada—she was inspired to start an international exchange， where volunteers help tutor Japanese， math， and other subjects.8
　　It’s a benefit for Iida and some of its most isolated9 residents. But Zakoji’s adventure also highlights that of a number of older women forging new paths through entrepreneurship—ventures that often bring isolated neighbors together， and are redefining what a rapidly “graying” society can look like.10
　　She encourages other elderly people to start their own business， or play a larger part in their local communities.
　　“When people get together， something will start to happen， and something will be created，” Zakoji says.
　　In Japan， people aged 65 or older will account for 38 percent of the total population in 2065， up from nearly 27 percent in 2015， according to the Tokyo-based National Institute of Population and Security Research.11 Statistics like that concern many economists， particularly paired with the country’s birth rate， one of the lowest in the world. They are an underlying impetus for“womenomics，” as low-immigration Japan considers how to boost its workforce.12 　　But “women in their 60s these days have more strength than the same age group a decade ago，” says Atsuko Arisawa， the director of non-profit organization Rokumaru 60—a play on the words for “six” and “zero.”13 The organization helps women， especially those in their 60s， improve job skills and find work or start their own business.
　　Traditionally， Japanese mothers have most responsibility for child-rearing， while “salaryman” corporate culture keeps mostlymale workers at the office into late evening hours.14 But even when kids are older， or have left home， women seeking a career face an uphill15 battle. In 2016， the World Economic Forum16 ranked Japan 111 out of 144 countries on gender equality.
　　“It’s still very difficult for women to reenter the country’s workforce following the birth of a child，” says Fumie Kuratomi， director of the Fukuoka Gender Studies Institute17. “If you are a married woman over 35 in Japan， it’s hard to find even a temporary job.”
　　Abe’s government is “far from serious about creating work-life balance for working mothers，” adds Ms. Kuratomi， who is also a sociologist at the University of Teacher Education Fukuoka.
　　In the autumn of their lives， many women “finally reach a point where they can do what they want to do after staying at home to raise children and take care of their husbands，” says Ms. Arisawa， a former editor of a community newspaper. “They want to make their desire a reality.”
　　For many of these entrepreneurs， Arisawa says， making profits is not the first priority.
　　“So many women want to contribute to a community and bring pleasure to others，” she says.
　　Helping neighbors connect
　　In an area called “Hill of Hope”in the city of Yokohama18， near Tokyo， Maki Gomi， who has long volunteered to help local elderly people， opened Café Heartful Port at her home three years ago.
　　Since its opening， the 300-sq.-ft. cafe has drawn more than 10，000 customers， from teens and parents with babies to elderly people， and holds seminars and small concerts to help residents interact with one another.19
　　“We need to make communitybuilding more interesting，” says Ms. Gomi.
　　With a community turning gray， and the number of nuclear families20 rising in a Tokyo suburb like Yokohama， such interaction is important. Elderly people and a family member looking after them can be isolated， says the mother of three grown children. Isolation is a problem for many young families， too： intense schedules that send kids straight from school to extra tutoring classes are common， leaving less time for activities that bring the generations， or the neighborhood， together.