Activities
     
Japan launches community support networks for people with dementia and their families (Japan Jul.07)


Creating Community Support Networks for People with Dementia and Their Families

Front row (L-R)-Yuko Nejime (Administrative Assistant), Dr. Masako Osako (Guest), Shigeo Morioka (President), Susumu Saito (Translation Division), Miki Yoshihara (Translation Division).

Second row (L-R)-Shinichi Ogami (Project Manager), Atsuko Tachibana (Administrative Assistant), Mamiko Kashima (Chief, Administrative Section), Yoko Shido(Secretary-General), Toyoko Tsunoda (Manager, Telephone Hotline To Support Family Caregivers Section), Noriko Watanabe (Ex-Staff)

Today about 1.7 million people in Japan (total population ~127.7 million) suffer from dementia. Perhaps as a result, Japanese are beginning to perceive the affliction as a serious challenge for the whole nation rather than as "something happening to other people.”

With respect to dementia care, Japanese policy has been that (1) it is desirable for persons with dementia to continue to live in their community as long as possible and 2) a community-wide support network is indispensable to realizing this objective. Additionally, Japanese policy makers confirmed that people afflicted with dementia have the right to life with dignity.

In FY2005, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, together with various organizations concerned with dementia issues, launched a national campaign called "The Campaign to Understand Dementia and Build Community Networks.” ILC-Japan serves as the secretariat for this campaign. Recent activities conducted as part of the campaign include:


National program to train one million "dementia supporters”: With the goal of providing community support for people living with dementia, the program aims to train one million "dementia supporters” nationwide by 2010. The intended function of these trained supporters is for them to help lead local communities in planning and implementing community networks supporting persons with dementia. Such a community-wide network is expected to involve municipal governments, neighborhood associations, workplaces, and schools. At present there are about 130,000 trained dementia supporters in Japan.


Model Projects for supportive communities: The organizers of the campaign solicit examples of projects in which a community innovatively provides support for persons with dementia. In 2007, the association recognized eight community groups for excellence in this area.


Supporters of the dementia campaign wear orange bracelets like this one

Symposium for and by those suffering from dementia: In October 2006, a unique symposium on dementia care was held in Kyoto. It was the first conference on dementia in Japan in which those afflicted by the illness themselves were the primary presenters. Seven persons with dementia discussed their personal experiences [of the illness]. They issued a statement expressing their wishes and concerns and requesting the public's understanding.
For further details see " People with Dementia Begin Sharing their Experience” (in English) to be posted shortly on ILC-Japan's website, www.ilcjapan.org.


Revision of Japan's Long Term Care Insurance Law

Japan's National Long-term Care Insurance System was launched in 2000 to provide for Japanese aged 65 years old and over requiring long-term care services. After five years of implementation the insurance program was revised. Among the changes incorporated in the revised law is an increased emphasis on reduction of unnecessary use of services under the program and prevention of disability in old age.
In order to reduce the unnecessary use of services provided under the program, which burdens its fiscal resources, the revised law encourages older persons to:
･Continue to live in their own homes rather than utilizing long-term care institutions.
･Regularly exercise to minimize the decline of physical capacity.
･Practice good nutrition and oral hygiene.
･Perform simple housework themselves rather than depending on homemaking services.

During its first year of implementation, the revised long term care insurance law has encountered a number of challenges. For example, while older persons desire health and longevity, they have, as a group, seemed unwilling to participate in standardized group programs for exercise and other activities. Some have also criticized the revised law for having the effect of suppressing the homemaking service industry. Policy makers are paying close attention to these public responses to their effort to improve the program. (For further detail, see "Revision of the Long-Term Care Insurance System in Japan ' (in English) on www.ilcjapan.org.)