The Supply Policy for the Senior Citizen Rental Housing with Medical & Nursing Cares in Japan

The Japanese government enforced the public-care insurance system in April, 2000, and started the supply of rental apartment houses with life-support services for elderly people in order to reduce the allowance of public-care insurance in October, 2012. The main objectives of this policy are to reduce medical expenses, to improve QOL and to consign rental housing services for elderly people who need care to private enterprises. The joint venture (JV) consists of real estate agents, general constructors, housing makers, food business companies, bars and meal-providing business companies, medical doctors, care givers, home helpers, home security guards,pharmacists, transportation service companies, and so on, in accordance with the circumstances of regions. Local governments only play the following roles:A. to offer a long-term loan with low interest or a financial subsidyB. to deduct the fixed property taxC. to take administrative measures against abuse to elderly people or a breach of contractOn the other hand, the Japanese government is planning to reinforce the evaluation system by a third party in order to make the quality of welfare and care services better by competition. At present, however, the market competition principle doesn\u27t work and the service cost stays high and monopolistic. When choosing a house after retirement, more ethical and moral rules, a sense of solidarity among residents, and mutual support are more important than young generations

A Developmental Study on the Utilization of Geothermal Energy for Saving Energy in Houses

Japan is a long and narrow island country from north to south and in some areas in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, the temperature difference in a year is more than 70deg.C. Under the harsh climate, the heat of summer and the severe cold of winter, a greater consideration is necessary in choosing architectural technique and a way of life. Rikubetsu-cho, which is well-known as the coldest area in Japan, has studied about the following three points for 26 years: (1) a high insulation and airtight technique of housing design in which the least energy is needed (2) a design of a cooperative house, in which elderly people live with comfort even under severe climate conditions (3) to put into practice a ventilation and heating system by geothermal energy. In Japan the utilization of geothermal energy is far behind that of solar power generation. Especially in areas with many volcanoes or hot springs, to utilize geothermal energy is effective. The author investigates a technique which can be applied to general buildings or houses without excessive investment on equipments

A Verification Study of the Supply Policy for Senior Housing with Medical and Nursing Care in Japan : The Points at Issues and Problems in Community-Based Rental Housing Instead of Expensive Senior Home Facilities

Japan is an aging society with its birthrate rapidly declining and its population also decreasing. The number of people over 100 years of age was more than 50,000 at the end of 2012 and that number is increasing still. However, people over 75 pay far more medical expenses and use more care service than people of other age groups. The Japanese Government policy focuses on health and longevity and is planning to utilize its welfare revenue for special medical checks of people over 40 in order to find or prevent lifestyle-related illness. Furthermore it is planning to shift focus from the traditional "care at nursing homes" to "care at patients\u27 own houses" to support patients to live on their own within the context of cost performance and QOL. The government has put deregulation into practice in order to reduce the number of people with senile dementia or other diseases on waiting lists for special care homes. It also started to supply senior housing with fulltime life-support in October 2011, the aim of which is to support seniors to be cared for at their own houses. The authors verify how the welfare business should be from the view of consumers and suggest administrative role and responsibilities