filial piety in Japan

1. filial piety in Japan GLOBAL KN2 Kiara Banks, Kristi Davidson, Nathalie Sevilla & Nakia Thierry

2. Defining Filial Piety .. Japanese name : Oya Koko (in Confucianism) the important virtue and primary duty of respect, obedience, and care for one's parents and elderly family members. (Source: Dictionary.com) “the respect you pay to your parents because without them you wouldn't be here.”

3. Expectations for Elder Care Filial Piety in Japanese culture

4. Church & State Filial piety is considered as a religious concept and our constitution regulates the separation of state and religion. Japanese civil law regulates “the duty of support”.  A vulnerable person, such as minority (under-age) or elderly persons has the right to claim support to their family member based on the concept of “human right protection”.  

5. Filial Piety & the Law Japan does not have any laws that requires family members to care for elders in their family. However, if a family member neglects the elder, in some cases, the family court would order him or her to take care of the elder., Like in the United States, neglect of an elderly person is considered as a form of “abuse”, he or she may be arrested in the worst case.

6. Public Assistance for Elder Care in JAPAN • Long-Term Care • National Health Care • Livelihood Protection

7. Long-Term Care Japan has a public Long-Term Care (LTC) insurance system and it provides various types of in-home supportive services. There is no law that guarantees the responsibility of the family to financially support their elderly family member’s nursing home fees, however, in most cases, family member help pay for the nursing home fees that are not covered by public LTC insurance.

8. National Health insurance • Japan has “National Health insurance” (so-called universal healthcare), so as long as you are Japanese citizen, you are automatically enrolled in either National Health insurance or Employee’s Health insurance. Furthermore, since 2008, “the late-stage medical care system for the elderly” has also been adopted, and elderly persons are mandated to pay additional medical insurance fee for their own medical care.

10. Livelihood Protection What is it? This is a system which provides necessary care to persons who are having problems in their lives because the economic supporter of the household has died, or is on a reduced income or no income due to sickness or injury, and the families of such persons, to support their independence. This particular form of government assistance is not often sought due to the “shame” that it brings to the culture.

11. Conclusion Filial Piety seems to be a religious practice and concept for the Japanese. Though there is no laws that mandate for its practices, the law also protects the health and well-being of its elders. The country also has a few government programs that aid in the caring for its elders once they hit their later years of life. With National Health Care and Long-Term Care insurance programs set into place for its citizens, Japan is ready is well-equipped with resources to take care of their elders.