Current issues in access to care services for the elderly in Japan focusing on special permanent residents and foreign-born Japanese: A report by the Monitoring Report Committee of the Japanese Society of Public Health

Abstract

Japan is currently one of the countries with a long life expectancy, in which a great number of older people need care for their daily living. Japan has become increasingly internationalized due to an increase in foreigners and international marriages. As the number of elderly foreigners and foreign-born Japanese increase, older adults who do not use Japanese as their first language will need more opportunities to receive care. We examined characteristics such as country of origin, language spoken, lifestyle, living environment, and cultural background of elderly people who were either foreign permanent residents living in Japan or foreign-born Japanese (hereinafter referred to as elderly with an international background, in short, EIB) receiving care support. Ichushi-web, a medical literature database, was used [last search date: June 2, 2018]. These searches extracted 205 papers. After the first and second extraction procedures, only two papers matched this theme. These two reports were for Korean residents in Japan, so-called special permanent residents, and repatriates from China and their spouses, many of whom were aged 75 years old and above. The number of permanent residents in Japan who speak a foreign language as their first language is increasing. Inhibition of communication between EIB and healthcare welfare service providers is expected to be an obstacle while accessing care support services. For this reason, we must provide them with information related to Japanese healthcare services. Medical interpretation efforts are scattered and the response to EIB in the event of disasters has been discussed. From the perspective of multicultural coexistence, it is necessary to provide long-term care insurance services and medical services to EIB. Such efforts may include development and sharing of tools and the placement of staff who can communicate with non-Japanese speakers. Staff must also understand various illness- and health awareness-related issues. In the future, considering the increasing number of EIB who may require care services, we must consider cultural backgrounds and language diversification for EIB. These issues require clarification and development of acceptable solutions.