Reforming Care and Support: Learning from Japan

Counsel and Care the national charity, working with older people, their families and carers for the best care and support, calls for a care debate that recognises the global impact of an ageing population. The Government's forthcoming green paper on the future of care and support in England must look at how care for older people has been successfully reformed in other countries if it is going to have a real impact in the long term. Japan has the world's fastest ageing population, highest life expectancies (79 years for men and 85.8 for women in 2006 and a declining birthrate. The Japanese government's implementation of a national long-term care insurance system has ensured all Japanese older people get the care and support they need, despite the demographic timebomb. This experience should inform England's own long-awaited reform of social care. Read the full report from Counsel & Care here.