Condominium managers will be required to take courses starting next month on how to handle residents with senile dementia.
The Condominium Management Companies Association has accepted the plan advocated by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, officials said.
The step is intended to deepen condo managers' understanding of dementia in view of increasing troubles involving residents suffering from the progressive brain dysfunction at a time when society is aging.
The ministry wants the training to help condo managers ensure the safety of such residents who might wander around while leaving their homes unlocked.
The association plans to train about 1,300 employees of condominium management companies in seven major cities, including Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
The training will feature lectures by doctors.
The number of dementia patients needing nursing care was estimated at 1.7 million in fiscal 2005 and is expected to rise to 2.5 million by 2015.