Masato Oka

Public Policy and the Old Age Revolution in Japan

Contents Introduction * Japans Aging Society * Health and Social Care * Health Status of Elderly Japanese and the New Direction of Health Services * Japans Financing System for Elderly Health Care: In Search of Better and Equitable Burden-Sharing for the 21st Century * Paying for the Health and Social Care of the Elderly in Japan * Work and Retirement * Work and Retirement in Japan * The Challenge of an Aging Work Force: Keeping Older Workers Employed and Employable * Japanese Policies for a Smoother Transition From Work to Retirement * Between Policy and Practice: Japans Silver Human Resource Centers as Viewed From the Inside * Social Policy * Implementing Public Policies and Services in Rural Japan: Issues and Problems * Expansion of Formalized In-Home Services for Japans Aged * Possibilities for Change to Universal Design: Japanese Housing Policy for Seniors at the Crossroads * From Transfer to Social Services: A New Emphasis for Social Policies for the Aged in Japan * Reference Notes Included

Older Workers: Trends and Prospects

As a result of declining or stable fertility rates and an increase in life expectancy the populations of the case countries are set to age markedly over the next 50 years. Table 1 shows fertility rates and life expectancy at birth in the case countries between 1980 and 2000. Fertility rates fell between 1980 and 2000, and markedly so in Japan. Among the countries Japan also has the longest life expectancy at birth. Table 2 reports the proportion of the population of the case countries between 1980 and 2050 aged over 60 and 65. This shows that each country is set to age markedly over the next 50 years. Japan will have the most aged population, with over one-third of its population aged over 60 or over 65 by 2050.

A special consumer cooperative association nursing home.

A unique welfare facility for the elderly in Japan, named the ‘‘Rapport Fujisawa,’’ is the subject of this article. It is a mixed facility consisting of a special nursing home and an in-home care support center for the elderly. It was established in May 1994 by an innovative Japanese consumer cooperative association called the Seikatsu Club Seikyo Kanagawa (henceforth, SCSK). ‘‘Seikatsu’’ means life, ‘‘Seikyo’’ means consumer cooperative, and ‘‘Kanagawa’’ is a prefecture close to Tokyo.

Work and retirement in the Asia–Oceania region: Perspectives on longer employment and flexible retirement

This paper considers the situation of older workers in developed economies generally, and the specific cases of Australia and Japan. It examines trends in the employment of older people, the development of public policies, and identifies measures for promoting longer employment, re‐employment, and gradual retirement.

Managing an Ageing Labour Force: The Interplay between Public Policies and the Firm's Logic of Action - The Case of Japan

This article analyses the interplay between the firms logic of action towards older workers and public policy in Japan. It is based on a case study of the Toyota Motor Corporation, using data collected by questionnaire and interview surveys conducted in 1994 and 2002. Toyotas behaviour towards older workers is characterized as “reject and retain”. This means excluding older workers from the companys seniority system in their mid-50s, while retaining them in the group firms. The exclusionary behaviour arises from the logic of the seniority system, while the retaining behaviour arises from the logic of external environments including pressure from the government and the trade union. The “reject and retain” policy can be evaluated as the Japanese-style approach towards the goal of providing longer employment opportunities for older employees through a tripartite sharing of the burden among the state, management and labour. It seems, however, that the preconditions for the approach no longer exist. The rich inner and quasi-inner labour market, which enabled the absorption of older employees, diminished during the long recession which started in 1992 as well as the recent difficult competitive situation.