Japanese social welfare protecting the elderly

Japan is well known for having the oldest population in the world. Nearly 30% of people in the country are over 65, and this is only expected to increase in the future. Aging societies can bring a number of issues, especially when combined with a low birth rate. At the same time, an aged population makes it that much more important to properly support the elderly. What kind of social welfare and other support is Japan providing to its senior citizens?

The country, of course, has many of the kinds of facilities you would expect, such as nursing homes. Some organizations take other, unique approaches that allow the elderly to get more involved in their communities. Japan’s Silver Human Resources Centers provide part-time and temporary work to local senior citizens. These jobs let them contribute in a variety of fields from office work to customer service. The work is sporadic and the pay is not high, averaging around 50 to 60,000 yen a month. Therefore, the program is less for seniors to financially support themselves and more for them to remain active in their old age.

The Japanese government itself offers extensive care services for its elderly. In 2000, it established the Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) program to give institutional and community-based support to senior citizens. Everyone older than 65 years is eligible for the benefits regardless of their income, and they have flexibility in choosing their service providers.

While the Silver Human Resource Centers provide seniors professional support, other organizations focus more on community interaction. Yoro Shisetsu are combined elderly and child care centers. Seniors and children mainly stay in their own separate sections, but a variety of activities are planned for them to interact with each other. The seniors occasionally drop by the children’s section to help out staff with child care, which includes serving meals or even changing diapers. Children also visit the elderly in their section to spend quality time with them. While these activities are often planned out, places such as Aoi Care in Fujisawa city, Kanagawa allow the two groups to interact more freely and for the elderly to plan out their own days.

Social welfare and community support are beneficial for everyone, but especially so for the elderly. Depending on life circumstances, old age can be one of the best times of a person’s life or the most difficult. The high elderly population in Japan brings with it a number of issues, especially when paired with its low birth rate. It can certainly cause labor shortages, for example.

Regardless, the elderly still deserve to live with dignity and receive all the support that their society can provide. Those that are financially well off in their later years can still benefit tremendously from community interaction and finding a sense of purpose, or productive and enjoyable ways to spend their time. Services such as Yoro Shisetsu can also give them a chance to interact with and pass down what they know to younger generations.

Elderly social welfare systems are not only valuable for seniors, they show the general importance of a society that takes care of each other. We all benefit from fostering an environment that promotes caring, community and connection.