Masako Wakamiya: One of the world’s oldest iPhone app developers
An 82-year-old Japanese woman launches her own iPhone app after only starting to use computers at 60.
Masako Wakamiya, 82, became one of the world’s oldest iPhone app developers after noticing a shortage of fun apps aimed at people her age.
Wakamiya, who started using computers at age 60, when she retired from her job as a bank clerk, repeatedly asked software developers to create more games for the elderly, but no one was interested.
Then she decided to teach herself the basics of coding and developed ‘Hinadan’, one of Japan’s first dedicated app games for over-60s.
‘Hinadan’ – ‘the doll staircase’ – was inspired by the Hina Matsuri, a doll festival which takes place every March, where ornamental dolls representing the emperor, his family and their guests are displayed in a specific arrangement.
The app is currently only available in Japanese, has been downloaded 42,000 times with hundreds of positive comments from users.
And while these figures are relatively small compared to Japan’s big-hitting apps, which are downloaded in the millions, ‘Hinadan’ has proved popular enough that Wakamiya plans to release English, Chinese and possibly French versions of the app before next year’s festival.
