Role and Value of Family in Implementing Japanese Elderly Long-Term Care: Historical-Societal and Comparative Perspectives

This chapter is a country case study that focuses on how societal value—specifically, the value of family in Japan—has shaped its elderly long-term care insurance system. As one of the most aged societies in the world, Japan’s elderly care system is expected to provide an interesting example. However, due to its unique traditional family value, the Japanese elderly long-term care insurance system has developed in a distinct way, despite being originally based on the German system. Thus, this chapter examines Japan’s family values, analysing their historical background and development to understand their influence and impact on the elderly long-term care system. Despite the changes in family structure in recent years, caused by advanced ageing and declining birth rate, the elderly long-term care insurance system was designed around traditional family values and structures. This has resulted in various issues and challenges, especially for caregiving family members. The chapter explores the issues of Japanese long-term care insurance caused by the gap between traditional family value and the realities of the family in contemporary Japan.