G. Day and Home-delivery Services
a) Homehelp Service
At present (in fiscal year 1997), there are approximately 151,900 homehelpers for the elderly throughout Japan. (In addition, there are approximately 15,500 homehelpers for the handicapped persons.) As discussed in the previous part of this paper, our National Government is placing a special emphasis on the rapid development of this service, and before the end of fiscal year 1999, the number of homehelpers for the elderly will be increased to 170,000. Those who have little or no income can utilize this service without any charge.
Generally speaking, in large metropolitan areas, the shortage of home-helpers is very acute, while in some rural areas the supply tends to exceed the demand because of the conservative attitude of people toward the utilization of welfare services.
b) Visiting Nurse Service
Visting nurse service is now developing very rapidly in Japan. At present (June 30, 1997), there are approximately 2100 visiting nurse stations throughout Japan. As mentioned earlier in this paper, the number of the stations will be increased to 5,000 before the end of fiscal year 1999.
The charge for this service is only 250 yen (approximately US$1.92), using 1995 exchange rate： $1.00 = \130.2 per visit.
c) Day Service for Frail and Impaired Elderly
Day service for Frail and Impaired Elderly service is also developing very rapidly in Japan. At the end of fiscal year 1997, there were approximately 8900 Day Service Centers throughout Japan. The number of the centers will be increased to 17,000 before the end of fiscal year 1999, as mentioned earlier in this paper. Day Service Centers are obliged to provide transportation service for their users. Some of the Day Service Centers are also providing such home-delivery services as visiting bathing services, meals-on-wheels, and laundry services. The users of this center bear a small amount of the charge which is roughly equivalent to the costs of the materials they consume.
