ABSTRACT
In this chapter Gifu Prefecture is taken as Japan’s regional case example. The period examined takes us into the 1990s, as statutory residential care provision for older people came later here. Drawing on official records and local publications, this chapter examines how the prefecture interpreted and implemented central legislation and policy goals according to its regional context. Under the 1951 Social Services Reform Act, Japan had a two-tier administrative structure in residential care provision for older people, with forty-seven upper prefectural (regional) authorities responsible for overall provision and some 800 lower municipal authorities running everyday administration. These arrangements were essentially unchanged during the period examined in this chapter.
