ABSTRACT
The Civil Code of Japan, which prescribes rights and obligations among family members, was revised in 1947 in the aftermath of the Second World War. At the time of the revision, it was rare for parents to live long after their children reached the age of majority and it was commonly accepted that ageing parents should be supported and cared for at home by their family members. Consequently, this was not an urgent issue for families and the government. However, Japan later experienced the most rapid ageing of its population in the world. As a result, supporting and caring for ageing parents has become a major issue for families as well as society as a whole. (For a general discussion, see Chapter 6.3 of this book.)
As the society has aged, individual families have found it diffi cult to know how to care for ageing parents. The government has, therefore, had to resolve the policy issue how and to what extent to develop state provisions for the elderly. This chapter mainly examines the ways in which support and care is dealt with in the Civil Code that defi nes relationships among family members. In fact, the Civil Code has no legal provisions that directly govern the issue of support and care for ageing parents. Attention, therefore, focuses on the general relationship between children over the age of majority and their parents. After the explanation of the Civil Code, the kinds of state provision for the elderly is outlined. In conclusion, the relationship between obligations among family members and the public provisions is analysed. 1
In Japan, the central issue in the relationship between children over the age of majority and their parents is co-residence. The problems that stem from co-residence can be divided into
1 The Japanese Government provides a translation of the articles of Japanese Laws on the website www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/?re=02 (accessed 6 January 2014).
