Japan's Elderly Care Insurance System Of Shanghai

Japan has the oldest population in the world and is aging faster than any other country. China has the highest proportion of elderly people of any developing country. It continues to age almost as fast as Japan and could age even faster in the coming years. Since Japan and China share similar traditional family system that values Confucianism's emphasis on a child's duty to take care of their parents, it may be interesting to compare how Japan and China face the problem of an aging population. However, since Chinese society varies so much across its huge geographical area, it is hard to make direct, country-to-country comparisons with Japan. On the other hand, Shanghai could provide a useful comparison since, as the most developed city in China it has a similar economical background to Japan and, as the Chinese city with the highest number of elderly citizens, it likely goes through similar problems to those faced by Japan in the past decades.The aim of Japan's long-term care insurance was to reduce the burden of the care for the elderly by providing a social service and financial support. It has cut the medical cost, and has encouraged the private sector to join the long-term care industry.Shanghai has a weaker insurance basis but a stronger labor market than Japan. Although China has already implemented a social insurance system, the financial burden is so heavy that people try their best to avoid joining it. This situation makes it very hard to implement any new kind of insurance. However, Shanghai still has abundant cheap labor from other parts of China. This makes it easier for Shanghainese people to hire care attendants without any financial support from the government.This report will introduce and analyze Japan's long-term care insurance, analyze the current situation of care for the elderly in Shanghai, and consider the possibilities for developing a private nursing care sector in Shanghai.