Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) held the first meeting of its task force on “Redefining ‘Long–term Care’ to Create a Long–term Care System for the Era of Healthy Longevity.” In accordance with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) control measures, the meeting was held entirely online and was not open to the public.

This project aims to reexamine the ideal structure of the long–term care system, an indispensable social system in the era of healthy longevity. In Step 1, we redefined “long–term care” based on existing studies and surveys on the nature of the long–term care system as well as on changes in society since the long–term care insurance system was first established. In Step 2,we will discuss the ideal form of the long–term care system that will be required by society in the future based on task force and expert meetings and draft a “New Vision for Long–Term Care” (tentative title) that incorporates multiple, cross–disciplinary perspectives. Step 3 will begin from FY2022 and will involve efforts to achieve the long–term care system portrayed by that vision. Based on discussions among multi–stakeholders from industry, Government, academia, and civil society, we will crystallize issues in the current long–term care system, formulate policy proposals, and engage in advocacy.

At the first meeting of the task force, we discussed the changing needs of individuals, families, and society with regards to long–term care. The discussion spanned the initial establishment of the long–term care insurance system, the present day, and the future. We also discussed how to best define ‘long–term care’ for the era of healthy longevity.

FY2021 Task Force (In alphabetical order; titles omitted)
Motoi Fujisaki(Chief Risk Officer, Representative Managing Officer, Sompo Care Inc.)
Satoko Hotta (Professor, Graduate School of Health Management, Keio University; Representative, Designing for Dementia Hub; Board Member, HGPI)
Takashi Iguchi (Associate Professor, Social and Cultural Studies Division, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo)
Shinya Ishii (Specially–appointed Professor, Symbiotic Social Medicine Course, Graduate School of Medicine, Hiroshima University; Research Fellow, HGPI)
Shu Kinoshita (Lecturer, Faculty of Letters, Keio University)
Mie Morikawa (Professor, Department of Policy Studies, Tsuda University)
Yumi Shindo (Researcher, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology)
Masayuki Takahashi (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Saitama University)
Kiyoyuki Tomita (Manager, Value Unit, Integrated Dimension Strategy Department, Eisai Co., Ltd.)
Junichiro Toya (Director, Sakura Shinmachi Urban Clinic, Platanus Medical Corporation)