Japanese Women Now

Elderly Care and Women

By HIGUCHI, Keiko
Representative, Women's Association for the Better Aging Society

The population over 65 exceeded 7 percent of the total population of Japan in 1970. This number doubled in 24 years to more than 14 percent of the total population of Japan in 1994, and occupies more than 17 percent in 2000. In the near future, Japan will be the first country in the world with more than 20 percent of the total population being over 65. The drastic transition in population structure from mid-1970s to 1980s has brought changes in the traditional family consciousness.

At that same time period, the lifestyle and attitudes of Japanese women have undergone changes resulting from the series of conferences and other activities that began in the UN International Year of Women in 1975. Women began to share growing consciousness of the necessity of becoming independent and becoming more involved in social life. During the past decade, the average life span has been growing longer, while the total fertility rate (average number of children that a woman may be expected to have during her lifetime) became smaller than 3.0. In the past, the Japanese generally considered their life span to be 50 years, but by the late 1970s they started to think, "I could live to be 80." Thus women began to explore new lifestyles to enable them to lead their prolonged lives in better ways. Even so, the society as a whole was still conservative. It is well illustrated by the process of ratifying the Treaty on the Abolishment of Discriminations against Women, which faced tough opposition in the Parliament from members with conservative male-centered consciousness.

Establishment of the Women's Association for a Better Aging Society

In traditional society, it was considered the family responsibility to take care of the aging parents, and the government's policy on the aging society was also that the family was the primary provider for the elderly care even though society became rapidly aged. The White Paper stated, "The high rate of elderly people living with their children is a latent asset in the country's welfare budget" in its 1978 edition.

When the elderly became enfeebled and dependent on a caregiver, it was their first son's wives who took care of them. Housewives who were well educated and who were attempting to find ways to involve themselves in social activities after having raised their children faced strong social pressure to become the primary caregivers for their elderly family members. In the 1980s and 1990s, when the increase in elderly population became a social issue, some local governments began to honor housewives who had devotedly given care to their aged parents. Even some township enacted an ordinance to award devoted housewives.

In order to address the issue of the aging society from women's perspective, a symposium on the problems of the elderly was held in September 1982, following a 3-year preparatory period initiated by about 50 women (represented by Keiko Higuchi). Driven by the enthusiasm of about 500 women who participated in the symposium as well as the public opinion supporting the formation of an organization specifically for solving the problems of the women caring for the elderly, the Women's Association for a Better Aging Society was formed in 1983 with about 500 individual members and 9 groups.

The aging and aged society affects women's lives. Currently, 85 percent of family caregivers and more than 90 percent of occupational helpers are women. Many working women must leave their jobs in order to give care to their elderly parents-in-law, and they are forced to set aside their personal ambitions to become caregivers. At present, more than 100,000 employees must leave the workplace to give care to aging parents, and barely 10 percent are men. This shows that both society and families consider caring for the elderly to be a job for women, and particularly the duty of the eldest son's wife.

The critical nature of this problem has been often overlooked. Surveys the association conducted in 1987 and 1997 revealed the significance of the problem. Members across the country interviewed family caregivers. They found many cases that can be described in a phrase "care-giving hell." Care-giving women often ignore their own health while caring for the health of their elderly in-laws. These women often refrain from using welfare or private sector services out of a sense of decency, or because their husbands do not agree with the idea of using outside help.

The realities of care-giving revealed

The Association has university professors and specialists among its members, and conducts researches and studies on gender-sensitive issues, which tend to be neglected in the macroscopic surveys conducted by the government. For the past two decades, the Association has conducted a large quantity of research and has continued advocacy activities based on the findings of such research.

Following the UN Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 when the concept of Reproductive Health/Rights was clearly defined, the Association proposed a policy to support the maintenance and promotion of women's health throughout their life spans. A 3-year research project (following a two-year preliminary survey) on this issue was commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As a part of this research, Association members along with Keiko Higuchi as chief researcher form a sub-group focused on the health of middle age and elderly women.

The main areas of the survey are on menopausal symptoms, on the health status of elderly women, and on diseases and gender. The survey on menopausal symptoms was conducted among people visiting Menopause Health Center, Women's Centers and other public institutions. Though participants varied from housewives, working women, and women in rural areas, the results revealed that the problems of husband-and-wife relations and caring for the elderly influence the degree of menopausal symptoms. The international comparison of Japan with China and Korea was also conducted on this issue. On the health status of elderly women, an interview survey was conducted for 126 healthy elderly women in their 80s and above about their past and present health conditions and consciousness. The survey on diseases and gender found a distinct gender gap in reactions of family members and responses by medical institutions when women (housewives) become ill.

The findings of the ongoing research are reported at monthly meetings, annual assemblies, and at other occasions of the Association. We hold the annual assembly in different locations every year under the co-sponsorship of a local government to promote and extend our network. The issues raised at annual assemblies are reported in books published by a major publisher and are sold for the public Also, the media reports upon the results of the research. A notable example is the special radio program by NHK in 1999 on the issue of menopause at which two researchers from the Association spoke.

We promote interaction among individual and group members of the Association domestically and internationally. An international symposium was held in Seoul on November 12, 1999, which was co-sponsored by the Association in Japan and the Women Development Institute and Elderly Problems Research Institute in Korea. The theme of the seminar was "Care-giving: The Roles of Family and Women."

Participation in policy making processes

Municipal governments implement the welfare policies decided by the national government in Japan. Upon the enforcement of the Decentralization of Administration Act and Public Care Insurance Act in April 2000, greater power was mandated to local government. One of the Association's prospective goals is participation of women in making policies to deal with the aging society. We have been pouring greater energy into the promotion of women's participation in not only the national but also local administration and political process.

The Association conducted surveys among female members of local assemblies throughout the country to find what they thought about the welfare for the elderly, and to find what percentage of the members of the committee for the Public Care Insurance Scheme were occupied by women. We also organized study meetings for female members of the parliament and local assemblies. Thus, the Association has been making efforts to raise awareness and knowledge of senior welfare in female parliament and assembly members so that our representatives are well versed in the problems faced by families with aging members.

As a result, women who became local assembly members, or local assembly members who became members of the Association are both increasing. Although the exact number is not known, the number of Association members now in the political arena is around 200. In the national parliament, we have several MPs who are members of the Association, and one is on our Board of Directors. We have only three female prefectural governors at present, and two of them belong to the Association. Our members in various local assemblies are driving forces in an advocacy movement for elderly welfare to the local governments.

Enactment of the Public Elderly Care Insurance Act

The Association has addressed the issue of an aging society for the twenty years since its inception. Due to the change in the age structure of our population, it was obvious that the elderly would not be able to receive high quality care and maintain their human dignity with only family members to support them, and we advocated the establishment of a system to support families and elderly people. We made appeals to the Advisory Councils and various departments of concerned ministries based on our survey results. The Association thus played a propelling role in the enactment of the Public Elderly Care Insurance Act in 1997. At the same time, health support to family caregivers was incorporated in the policies of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

HIGUCHI, Keiko: Professor, Tokyo Kasei University specialized in Women's studies, family relationship and aging society. Representative of Women's Association for the Better Aging Society. Representative of Women and Health Network. Participated in government delegate as a NGO member for UN Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994

Women's Association for the Better Aging Society: Formed in 1983 after a symposium on the senile problems in 1982. Currently has 1,500 individual members and 150 group members. It is a loose coordinating body in which member groups scattering throughout Japan and in some foreign countries are organizing their own programs.

Related Links
Women's Association for the Better Aging Society
*Japanese text only

Resource
Primary Care Taker for Eldery

From Survey on home-visit nursing care, Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1995.

WOM has been working on the initiative Japanese Women Now in order to provide information about contemporary legal/social environment surrounding Japanese women. It is our hope that information on this page help readers gain further understandings on gender issues in Japan.

Authors of articles contributed to this initiative are active and knowledgeable members of the respective fields of selected topics. The contents are based on the fact available as of late 2001, when these articles were written. The original Japanese articles are also available on our Japanese Home Page.

Topics selected in this initiative are: Domestic Violence, Compulsory Selection of a Family Name for a Married Couple, Elderly Care and Women, Women and Work, Sexual Harassment in Working Place, Sexual Harassment on Campus, Equal Employment Opportunity Law, Single Mothering, Child Abuse, Women and Medical Care, and Reproductive Health/Rights. ===＞GO to Index

This initiative was made possible by the grant from Asian Women's Fund.