In Japan, business catering for the elderly is growing rapidly. Because the official social service is regarded as only for the poor people and the quality is very low in Japan.

As of 1990, 14,000 Japanese were living in private retirement homes, which appeal mainly to people who do not want to be a burden to their children. For example, the insurance cornpanies and constructing companies build and sell the private retirement homes. Only the wealthy, however, can afford the cost - an average 28 million Japanese Yen ($226 thousand, I .86 million SEK) down payment and 1 50 ,000 Japanese Yen ( $ I , 2 1 3 , I O ,000 SEK ) monthly fees (including room and board). Many elderly people sell their hornes in order to cover these expenses. 

But there are some troubles at the private retirement homes now. For example, at some private retirement homes, when the elderly becomes bedridden or senile dementia or sick, the elderly can not continue to stay at the retirement homes. And sometimes the private retirement homes become bankrupt and the elderly have no place to live in. 

So recently the Ministry of Health and Welfare tries to control the private retirement homes more strictly.  

Man must wait about one or two years until to move to the official nursing homes in Japan. Man can not get enough home help service at home. On the other hand, it is easy to move to the geriatric hospitals, but generally speaking the quality of the care is so bad. So the number of private nursing homes has been increasing in Japan recently.  

As to the private profit-making nursing homes, the Ministry of Health and Welfare decides the guideline of the care. The average down payment i s about 2 O mi I I i on Japanese Yen ( I . 4 million SEK) and monthly fees are about 300,000 Yen (20,000 SEK) . Only the wealthy elderly can afford.  

But the quality of the care at the nursing homes is almost the same as the official nursing homes( four beds in one room) . 

Sometimes the quality of the care at the private nursing homes is worse than that of the official nursing homes, because it is more profitable for the private nursing homes to reduce the running costs. The problem is that it is rather hard for the county council and the municipalities to control the quality of the private nursing homes. They get no money from the county council and municipalities, so county councils and municipalities can not order them strictly.

And another problem is that some private nursing homes force their patients move to the hospitals, when they become ill. nd the hospital at the district becomes full with the elderly patients from the nursing homes. But majority of the patients moved to the nursing home from the other district. So to build the private nursing homes at the district mean that the health So some county councils(for care cost will increase rapidly. example, Saitama county council) prohibited to build the private nursing homes in Saitama county council. 

The number of the private retirement homes and the nursing homes is supposed to increase in the future. But it is true that In Japan personnel the only wealthy elderly can afford them. expenses and the construction costs are very expensive, so it is almost impossible to build the cheap private retirement homes or nursing hcmes, especially at the big cities.  

The business catering home help service has started in Japan. his service is quite independent with the official home help service. More and more elderly need home help, but the official home help has not developed enough. The price of the private home help is more than 1,000 Japanese Yen (66 SEK) per an hour and is twice or three times more expensive than that of official home help. The elderly must pay all the cost by themselves.

And there are private home maid service in Japan also. The price is about 10.000 Yen (660 SEK) per a day(eight hours). The price of these private service is too expensive and the elderly must pay all the cost by themselves, so these private service can not become so popular.  

7.4 Home Help Service by Other Organizations

  In Italy, in Germany, in U.K. and so on, the churches and the Christian organizations provide some social service for the elderly .

Japan i s a buddhistI and , but the sociaI service by the religious body have not so developed.

Some voluntary organizations are active to take care of elderly and handicap people. In 1990, 318 non-profit organizations are active to take care of the elderly and handicap people.

For example, recently, unique activities have begun in Japan. This is so called "Time Spare System" . If man work as a home helper (non-paid) now, man can spare the time and in the future when man needs the care, man can get the home help. There are many housewives in Japan and they are very worried about their future, because the official care for the elderly is very poor. So such middle-age women take part in the "Time Spare System" now in Japan.

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