2. The Present Japanese Social Security Programs, Health Care, and Social Services for the Elderly
In the previous section, we described the historical development of Japan's social policies for the elderly. I am afraid that it might be difficult for readers to understand clearly the total structure and the present level of Japan's efforts for the welfare of our senior citizens. Therefore, the purpose of this section is to give you a clear-cut outline of Japan's contemporary social policies and programs for the elderly. In so doing, some explanations may unavoidably restate those given in the previous section.
A. Public Pension Insurance Programs
Roughly speaking, Japan has three kinds of public pension insurance programs by which all adult Japanese people are covered. The first is the National Pension Insurance Program for Self-employed Persons (Kokumin Nenkin). The second is the National Pension Insurance Programs for the Employees in Private Firms (Kosei Nenkin). The third is a group of pension insurance programs for the employees of governmental bodies and related agencies. In addition, there are several minor programs for special groups of employees, such as teachers employed by private schools, sailors, and the like. The universal coverage of public pension insurance is realized by these mutually independent programs which have been established separately but are working cooperatively (refer to Table 4, Appendix B).
B. Public Sickness Insurance Programs
The structure of public sickness insurance programs is quite similar to that of the public pension insurance program. That is, we have several mutually independent programs. The first is the National Health Insurance Program for Self-employed Persons (Kokumin Kenko Hoken). The second is the one for those who are employed by private firms (Kenko Hoken). The third is the one for those who are employed by governmental bodies and related agencies. In addition, there are a number of minor pro
