Nursing Care for Elderly People in Japan

If I was allowed to excuse for the long absence in this blog last year, it would be like this:
I’ve been busy taking care of my husband’s old and feeble parents!

My husband and I live in the same plot as his parents and share a front yard and a bathroom with them. They are in their 80’s, and have disabilities. Father has have paralysis in the left side of his body and can hardly walk by himself, since he was attacked by brain infarction 10 years ago. Mother is an Alzheimer’s patient and in her early stage of dementia. She can communicate as though being healthy, but actually, can’t understand time (or year, season, age, etc.), and forgets almost everything in five minutes after the events occurred. She was diagnosed as Alzheimer’s three years ago, and couldn’t continue to take care of her husband any longer. That was when I decided to take the role of caretaker for them.

Good news is that we have public nursing-care insurance scheme in Japan. All the people of age of 40 or older are forced to enter this insurance program and pay the premium, and have right to receive various kinds of nursing-care services at cheaper price when they become 65 or older and need care. My in-law parents are now taking nursing-care at adult day care centers and rehabilitation programs at home. When their symptoms further deteriorated, they will be able to live in a nursing home.

On the other hand, bad news is that many of old people in Japan still take it for granted that a first son’s wife should take care of her old in-law parents at home. In spite of Japanese law which says all the biological children are equally responsible for the care of their old and feeble parents, patriarchal customs still exist.

So, I’ve been reducing my working time in order to give cares to my in-law parents. Of course, I love them, but sometimes I wanted to say “That’s not fair!” I thought I would feel empty mentally and economically, after finishing this role.

Recently, I use public nursing-care services for them as much as possible to squeeze more time for myself, and started to increase working and studying hours.

I always wonder how is the situation of nursing-care for elderly people in other countries.