Testing the limits of care for older people

In the website “The Guardian” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) you can find a lot of pieces of news. I chose one of them, because it is connected to my future career. The headline of this piece of news says “Testing the limits of care for older people”.

Summary of the piece of news

Japan is the country with the oldest population. Japan people celebrate the Elderly Day on the third Monday each September. This is a national holiday to honour older citizens.
This Japanese celebration represents the stereotype of the positive Japanese tradition of family care for older people.
An official survey found that there is a high percent of old people who is maltreat or has relation to some form of abuse. In extreme cases, family "care" culminates in homicide.
Japan has neighbourhood mutual help associations (Jichikai). They have multiple functions to meet local needs. Among their functions we can find regular visits to older people living alone.
United Kingdom is interested in the use in Japan of care credits. This system is about earning credits by helping an older person in their neighbourhood. Credits can be exchanged for care of their own parents. This system is similar a voluntary mutual support system and it is operating in 30 Japan localities.
If you can read more about this piece of news, check the link below: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/28/japan-elderly-care-mutual-support