Abstract

What scholars have pointed out as the distinctiveness of Japanese culture appears to be a barrier in grasping the diversity of aging in today’s Japanese society. Despite dramatic postwar social and demographic changes, the filial virtue of strong family care, where adult children provide care for older parents through co-residence continues to influence Japanese people’s feelings and behaviors. Cultural factors make Japanese people feel guilty for placing the elderly in the hands of public care. Cultural factors also make the elderly who lack family and community ties feel hesitant to seek public support. This chapter aims to explain these cultural factors that overshadow the reality of the diverse needs of the elderly, and to discuss how they slow down the transition of care as private family matters to a widely discussed public issue. This chapter emphasizes that removing these barriers is crucial in discussing aging and family in Japan.