Helping Older Adults Live Securely in Familiar Places: An Introduction to Japan's Community-Based Integrated Support System
Japan is building a community-based integrated support system in which community centers provide older adults with services such as consultation, rights protection, and care prevention, and it also plans to provide daily support such as meal delivery and visiting for those in need. This approach has some reference value for community elderly care in China, but specific practices must be adjusted according to local conditions.
Machine translation of our Chinese article, without human translation review. Suggestions concerning China remain specific to China.
Chinese fact summaries and suggestions for China (not a full translation)
Original: 地域包括ケアシステム｜厚生労働省 · Original language: ja
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Facts from the sources
Japan plans to establish a community-based integrated support system around 2025, with the goal that even those who need heavy care can live in their familiar communities until the end of their lives. View source
As of the end of April 2025 (Reiwa 7), there were 5487 community-based integrated support centers nationwide in Japan. View source
Community-based integrated support centers are established by municipalities and provide older adults with assistance such as comprehensive consultation, rights protection, support-system building, and care prevention. View source
It is expected that the number of older adults who need daily-living support such as meal delivery and visits to maintain their home-based lives will increase. View source
To enable older adults to live securely in familiar areas, it is necessary not only to care for older adults but also for society as a whole to support their family-member caregivers. View source
Japan places importance on promoting older adults' social participation and encourages healthy older adults to become providers of daily-life services, so as to increase their sense of purpose and prevent the need for care. View source
For older people and families
If you have older adults in your family, you can first ask at the community service station or neighborhood committee whether there is a similar elderly-care consultation service locally.
Japan's community-based integrated support centers can provide comprehensive consultation on matters such as care, welfare, and rights protection. If similar services exist near us, it is worth making inquiries.
If an older adult lives alone or has difficulty moving around, they may need daily support such as meal delivery and home visits in the future. You can find out now in advance what help the community can provide.
Family members caring for older adults also have a hard time. When necessary, they should seek help from the community or from relatives and friends, and not struggle alone.
Older adults who are still in good health may consider taking part in community volunteer activities. This can both help others and make their own lives more fulfilling.
See what care and community teams can do
To build a community elderly-care support network, one can draw on the approach of Japan's community-based integrated support system: a grassroots government or community platform coordinates and integrates functions such as consultation, rights protection, and care prevention.
It is necessary first to understand the actual needs of local older adults, especially the needs of those who live alone, are disabled, or are very elderly, for meal delivery, visits, caregiver support, and so on, and then to decide on service items.
A multi-department collaboration mechanism should be established so that medical, nursing, welfare, and community organizations can share information and coordinate their work, avoiding older adults having to make multiple trips.
Implementing services requires professional staff and volunteer teams. Staffing standards should be clearly defined, and training, supervision, and remuneration guarantees should be provided.
One may refer to Japan's practice of encouraging healthy older adults to participate in daily-life services and design a mutual-aid model in which younger older adults serve older older adults, but attention should be paid to matching age and physical condition.
A service quality evaluation and feedback mechanism should be established, with regular checks on whether services truly meet older adults' needs, and adjustments made based on actual findings.
Community elderly-care services cannot rely on a single organization alone; they require the joint participation of government, enterprises, social organizations, and residents to form a sustainable operating mechanism.
What needs local assessment
The above content is based on Japanese policy information and statistical data. Japan's community-based integrated support system is established by municipalities, and specific services vary by region. The data are as of the end of April 2025 and may have changed. China does not yet have a fully identical system, and community elderly care services in China are still developing. Please refer to information published by local civil affairs and health authorities for specific policies, subsidies, and facility conditions. Matters involving older adults' health and care-needs assessment should be consulted with professional medical personnel or social workers. The systems and cultural backgrounds of different countries differ considerably and cannot simply be copied. Source: Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (see original link). This site has compiled and translated this based on the original facts; it is not a translation produced, endorsed, or published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The Japanese system is not equivalent to the Chinese system.
Sources
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and WelfareWas this article helpful?
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