ABSTRACT
This chapter focusses on Japan’s efforts of providing dwellings for older people. In 1986, the population forecast showed that a quarter of Japan’s population would be aged 65 years and over by 2030. It prompted Japan to take radical steps to manage the challenges associated with the rapid pace of population ageing. In the early 1990s, the Ministry of Construction proposed numerous changes to the physical environment, including dwellings design, to ensure suitability for a highly aged society. In 1995, design guidelines for dwellings for an ageing society were issued, triggering a policy-linked incentive by the Housing Loan Corporation of Japan in 1996. Then, in 2001, the Ministry introduced Securing Housing for Seniors Law to increase the supply of private sector rental housing with senior-friendly design features. The law failed to attain its intended aspiration and was subsequently revised in 2011. The revised law introduced service flats for seniors with subsidies for construction and possible linkages to aged care through the long-term care insurance system managed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Despite much progress, numerous older people in Japan remain living in poor quality dwellings and there have been few policy incentives targeted at home modification. Coordination of policies between the two ministries is essential for realising a better quality of life for Japan’s aged population.
