For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action

The 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election in July stood out for its large field of candidates, many of whom were unknowns from the fringes. One independent was a familiar face to many in Japan, however.
Yoshiro Nakamatsu, better known as “Dr. Nakamats,” is one of Japan’s most famous inventors and was making his eighth bid for governor. Having just turned 96 when ballots were cast, he was the oldest candidate in the race, and while he didn’t win, his willingness to challenge Gov. Yuriko Koike presented a prime example of can-do optimism for a rapidly aging Japan.
Nakamats’ last-minute campaign was thrown together at the behest of friends and supporters who didn’t want Koike to win a third term. He mounted it despite a number of health issues in recent years, including a cancer diagnosis in 2014, a stroke in 2021 and a heart attack in 2023.
“If the world’s greatest inventor becomes governor of Tokyo, it will resonate around the world,” he told reporters in announcing his candidacy. “If Tokyo becomes the cutting edge and center of world invention and companies gather in Tokyo, it will attract a lot of investment and become a wealthy city.”

Despite promises to end corrupt politics and solve the problems facing the capital through his genius, Nakamats only garnered some 24,000 votes, and Koike easily secured another mandate. Still, his effort was successful enough to convince him to run again in 2028, by which time he’ll be 100.
Nakamats welcomes the prospect — he is nothing if not supremely self-confident and unshakably proud of his career. At a time when Japan’s ballooning ranks of seniors are increasingly lonely and at risk of depression, he presents himself as a tireless humanitarian who is always thinking about other people and their problems.
It’s impossible to separate Nakamats from the persona of the “genius inventor” that he has long projected. A visitor to his large home in Setagaya Ward is first greeted by an imposing gate resembling a floppy disk, one of the thousands of inventions he claims. Proceeding past these and up to the top of the building into the great creator’s inner sanctum, with its marble floors and floor-to-ceiling windows, feels somewhat like meeting Dr. Eldon Tyrell of “Blade Runner.” Fortunately, instead of replicants or androids, Nakamats is known for fanciful creations that are more likely to spark a smile or cock an eyebrow: spring-loaded shoes for jump-walking, an armchair that supposedly boosts cognitive function and a magnetic condom to improve sex.

Even though he always discusses his creations in a serious tone, Nakamats clearly revels in this role as a kind of comic wizard. His silver-framed business card states not only that he has invented more than Thomas Edison but that he is a recipient of an Ig Nobel Prize. Presented by the bimonthly Annals of Improbable Research magazine, the satirical accolade celebrates “research that makes people laugh … then think.” Nakamats was honored in 2005 for “photographing and retrospectively analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting).” Almost two decades on, the doctor is still photographing his food in hopes of devising the perfect diet for the purpose of, you guessed it, more genius inventing.
His creations have been the subject of articles, books and TV shows, and Nakamats is proud of the attention. That’s nowhere more clear than in his trophy room showcasing an astonishing collection of awards. Amid portraits of Nakamats and a photo of himself at Emperor Showa’s garden party, there’s a Higashikuninomiya International Cultural Award; a San Francisco municipal proclamation that Feb. 23, 1995, is Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats Day; numerous best invention trophies; a Family Film Award for outstanding technical achievement; a certificate of honorary citizenship in the town of Karlskoga, Sweden, and even a handwritten letter bestowing knighthood (and a necktie) from the Knights of Malta, signed by one Count von Heisermann.
Inventing is Nakamats’ sole purpose in life. He says his first creation came nearly a century ago in 1933, when he produced what he calls an automatic center of gravity adjustment device for aircraft — in an old black-and-white photo, it looks like a small balsa wood model plane. At age 14, as Japan suffered from lack of fuel during World War II, he invented and patented a plastic pump, a precursor to similar products found in hardware stores throughout Japan. He was inspired by seeing his mother struggling to transfer soy sauce from a large bottle to a smaller one. That filial connection to his family is the mainspring of his invention, he says.
“The spirit of my invention is love, and my inventing power is bigger than before,” says Nakamats, arrayed in a richly embroidered Dolce & Gabbana suit of black and gold, along with a Versace belt and Gucci shoes. “Every day I’m thinking of new inventions.” When asked for his current invention tally, an assistant chimes in: “3,904.”

Nakamats goes on to describe the three elements of inventing: the first is having a theory about some problem, such as maintaining the stability of the center of gravity of an aircraft; the next is a flash of inspiration and the third is turning the idea into something practical. For instance, like many seismologists, he expects a big earthquake to strike Tokyo this century. Foreseeing disruptions to the capital’s water supplies, he says he invented a device to ensure clean water is available, though details were scarce pending a patent application.
Some of his ideas are borne out of personal necessity. In 2014, for instance, he was diagnosed with a terminal form of a rare prostate ductal cancer. The news inspired him to invent what he terms 10 cancer therapies, including walking and exercise aids; foods free of salt, sugar, potassium and other substances; a cancer-eradicating robot and even inspirational songs. Without showing details of the robot, he announced his innovations at a press conference held near the end of 2015, noting that his doctor had said he would not see 2016. He’s still around nearly nine years later.
Nakamats recommends a simple, holistic approach to aging well. One part entails adjusting attitudes toward advanced age. Instead of thinking of seniors as “old,” he says we should think of this demographic as people who have accumulated experience throughout their lives. This approach would address some of the negative associations with aging.
Next, he emphasizes the importance of a carefully chosen diet. Nakamats believes Americans have shorter lifespans than the Japanese because they consume more red meat and warns against having too much phosphorus in your diet (he says he has invented a cooking method to reduce it). Fermented foods are beneficial for older people, especially those that feature plant-based fermented elements such as the soybeans that go into miso, he says, adding that he has developed a new scientific food that will be described in a book to be published in the U.S.

Finally, he stresses the importance of exercising as we age. Nakamats says he still swims 1,800 meters every day and comes up with his ideas while underwater, where his brain is deprived of oxygen; naturally, he invented a pen that can write underwater to document his brainstorms. He also trains his muscles in a gym.
“My health is very important, and I’m trying to keep a strong body by stretching and exercising,” says Dr. Nakamats. “I’m already doing muscle training to prepare for the 2028 election for the governor of Tokyo.”
According to his own calculations, the doctor could live until 144. But if he is back on the hustings as a centenarian, Nakamats will remind us that age is nothing but a number. And while he never mentions it, it’s clear that a good part of his long and fruitful career comes down to one thing we all might learn from: some good old-fashioned swagger.