Can Japan’s Seniors Themselves Play an
Effective Role in the Home Care Needs of
Japan’s Elders?
Robert C Marshall, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
Western Washington University
Japan’s Senior Co-operatives
A network of hybrid co-operatives
Of, by and for seniors
In the context of:



demographic change
long term care for the elderly
co-operatives businesses
Demographic Change in Japan
1947 Japanese men reached 50
years life expectancy
1998 77.2 for men, 84 for women
1998 > 65 = 16.2%
1998 1.38 births/couple
2007 Japan’s population will peak
2025 > 65 projected at 27.4%
Long Term Elder Care
2000: 50% live in three generation
households
1993: 2 million elders needing LTC
2025: projected at 5.2 million
2000: kaigo hoken (national long term care
service insurance)
Caregiver shift from 35~55 toward 55~75
year old women (and few men)
 care to family members not reimbursed
 policy aimed to create businesses & jobs
Co-operatives
Member owned and managed businesses
For benefit of members
Types of co-operative



consumer (food, credit, housing, electricity)
producer (marketing, branding, shipping and
storage )
worker (jobs)
Senior Co-ops:
A Worker and Consumer Hybrid Co-op
A. Organizational history
1995 first branch started in Mie
Prefecture,150 members
2002 branches in 38 of 47 national
administrative districts,
> 100,000 members
2005 targets of
1,000,000 members
a branch in each A.D.
1999 Kawasaki City branch:
350 members in three years.
B. Focus on the needs of the elderly for
paid work
home care/health related services
community connections
C. Members can both provide and
receive services:
$30 annual fee
$50 to join
fees for services vary, but are low
pay is not as low, but not high
D. Home care services and senior co-ops
Home helper services offered from beginning
Growing focus since April 2000 on national home
care insurance (kaigo hoken)
Offer courses leading to home helper certificates
(grades 2 & 3, and coordinator)
Collaborate with local government agencies
Start, staff and manage home helper dispatch
centers
E. Other member opportunities
Transportation (therapy, dialysis)
Nursing home assistance (feeding, bed changing)
Tour and hobby groups (knitting, doll-making)
Clothing re-tailoring (“ReForm” group)
Home environment repair and renovation
Social service group volunteers
Fund raising organization
Reading and discussion groups, newsletter
publishing
Lunches and dinners, both cooking and delivery
Day-care centers for seniors
Assisted living centers (only a few so far)
F. Social service component too
links provide members with a
community
meaningful, valuable activity (ikigai).
Further Reading
Campbell, John C. and Naoki Ikegami. 2000 “Long-Term-Care
Insurance Comes to Japan.” Health Affairs 19:3 (May-June), 26-39.
Long, Susan O., ed. 2000 Caring for the Elderly in Japan and the
US: Practices and Policies. London and New York: Routledge.
Marshall, Robert C. 2004 Why Has an Expanding Movement of
Worker Co-operatives Emerged in Japan among Middle Aged,
Middle Class Housewives over the Past 15 Years? In: Paul
Durrenberger and Judith Marti,eds., Labor in Anthropology (Society
for Economic Anthropology, Vol. 22). AltaMira Press: Walnut Creek,
CA. Chapter 7.
----- 2003 The Culture of Cooperation in Three Japanese Worker
Co-operatives. Economic and Industrial Democracy 24(4):543-572.
Nakano, Lynne. 2005 Community Volunteers in Japan. London and
New York: Routledge.
Traphagan, John and John Knight, eds. 2003 Demographic
Change and the Family in Japan’s Aging Society. Albany: SUNY.