Changes to the nursing care insurance system, adopted in a law enacted in the last Diet session, end some services provided to people with less severe medical conditions as municipalities take over the responsibilities. Meanwhile, the out-of-pocket share that some care recipients in the insurance system pay for services is going up.

The measures are intended to sustain the public insurance for nursing care amid tightening finances for the nation's social security programs. But the government needs to make sure that these steps do not result in a decline in the overall quality of services for people in need of nursing care.

The number of people aged 75 or older is expected to exceed 20 million — nearly one-fifth of Japan's population — in 2025, when the postwar baby boomer generation reaches that age bracket. Demand for nursing care services will no doubt spike. However, it will be difficult to increase the services under the public insurance system in accordance with the surge in the elderly population.