Zaitakukaigo ni okeru Koreisha to Kazoku: Toshi to Chiho no Hikakubunseki (Elderly People and Families in Home Care: A Comparative Analysis of Cities and Provincial Areas in Japan)

Abstract

In the ten years following the introduction of the Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) system (kaigo hoken seido), the amount of elderly care services within Japan has increased dramatically. For example, the number of users of home-help services (hōmon kaigo) increased from 518,000 in 2001 to 1,154,000 in 2009, and in Japan, we are living in an age in which 4.1% of those aged 65 years or over are using home-help services. Japan has been called a conservative regime, a mixture of liberal, conservative and social democratic regimes, or an East Asian regime in international comparative studies on welfare states. Whatever the case, the fact that the family plays a major role in providing welfare in Japan is undeniable (Saito et al. 2010: 43–45). The introduction of the LTCI system is highly significant for Japanese society, which did not have universal elderly care until the 21st century. How have the conditions of elderly care changed? How have people’s awareness changed? How has the role of the family changed? An analysis of elderly care conditions provides us with an important benchmark when seeking to understand the characteristics and recent trends of the welfare state in Japan.