Introduction

Ageing of the population has affected many industrial societies, upsetting the existing balance of financial, material and instrumental resources across generations. The remarkable speed of societal ageing in Japan also poses a considerable challenge to the family and the state partly due to the increasing need for nursing care. This chapter explores, in the context of postwar demographics and socioeconomic and policy changes, the changing patterns of intergenerational relations, and in particular, the reciprocal dimension of the exchange of goods and services between ageing parents and their adult children.

Given the specific cultural norms and traditions, this chapter first examines how intergenerational relations have been perceived in Japan, and how they are transforming with particular reference to living arrangements, co-residence in particular, and the provision of nursing care. The wider issues linked to the development of social policy is then discussed. How the introduction of koteki kaigo hoken – long-term care insurance (LTCI) – in April 2000 alters the existing arrangements on care delivery is a central concern of this chapter. Finally, one particular exchange tradition between the provision of nursing care and inheritance within the family is examined. Contemporary factors such as people's value shift towards independence and individualism, increasing rates of female labour market participation and the postwar development of social policy have started to alter the conventional ‘generational contract’. Gender issues are also explored throughout this chapter.

Ageing Japanese society

At the beginning of the 21st century, Japan is the fastest ageing society in the world. It has taken only 25 years for Japan to double its rates of societal ageing. Japan earned the UN's definition of an ‘ageing society’ (people 65+ exceeding 7% of its total population) in 1970; by 1996 the rate had reached 14.5%, entering the UN's definition of an ‘aged society’. The speed is indeed phenomenal if we compare how long the same process has taken in other countries: for example, 45 years for Britain (1930-75), 85 years for Sweden (1890-1975), and 115 years for France (1865-1980) (US Census Bureau, 2001). Since 1950, fertility has decreased very sharply, and now Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world (1.36 in 2000) (Figure 4.1). Having a smaller family has become a trend, but this is also partly due to general decline in marriage rates since births to unmarried mothers remain uncommon in Japan.