Family, Community, and Mental Wellbeing

The Japanese demographic changed rapidly after 1945. There was rapid ageing, a sharp decline in three-generation households, and a rise in solo households. Still, the Japanese family-based collective culture continues to shape individuals’ overall beliefs and attitudes within society. The demographic shift has become a significant constraint on the Japanese social care system, manifesting as ro-ro kaigo (the old caring for the older), kaigo-rishoku (leaving employment to become a carer), and ‘8050’ (parents in their eighties caring for socially withdrawn children in their fifties). The national tendency towards social detachment makes such problems difficult to address. Today, Japan is finding a way to overcome these social challenges and establish an inclusive society by re-connecting people, including the mentally ill, within communities by tapping into the culturally inherited collective mentality of its people.