V. Social Welefare

V. SOCIAL WELFARE

1. Welfare for Children and Mothers

(1) Child Welfare

World War II left many children orphaned and child welfare in Okinawa was born from emergency measures to care for these orphans. Besides care given by institutional facilities, orphans were also reared by relatives and family friends. With the enactment of the Child Welfare Law in 1953, child welfare facilities and foster parent programs were systemized. At the beginning, the system did not allow a child to be placed with a relative of third degree blood relationship. Later, the system was amended so that these relatives could become foster parents and thus receive compensation allowance for the care of the child. Thus, many orphans were helped, and were reared by their relatives.

Currently, there are six child protective institutions (2 public and 4 private) and 62 foster homes to take care of children from unstable rearing environments. For every 8 children raised through institutional care, 2 children will be raised in foster care. Foster homes receive children from orphanages for holidays like the Bon summer festival and New Year's Day or for weekend home stays only. There are also cases of people on small, depopulated outlying islands (where the number of children has drastically decreased) becoming foster parents and taking in children. From roughly 10 years ago, when four elementary school students from a private child protection facility were taken as the first group of foster children to an outlying island, the acceptance of foster children has continued to this day. The presence of the foster children enlivens the island, and enables island traditions and culture to be carried on by the young. If these foster children go on to high school, they would be received by child protection institutions on the Okinawa main island.

Right after the war, many orphans were often absent from school. Many of them fell into delinquency, theft, intrusion into military facilities, prostitution, illegal possession of munitions, and other illegal activities, becoming a serious social problem. For this reason, a home for the training and education of juvenile delinquents was founded in 1951. Starting with the acceptance and protection of these children, welfare measures for children who required security were adopted.

One of the then child welfare officers, seeing that the girl's facility was under-equipped, to donated personal money to establish and operate a girl's home. At this facility, the founding couple supported the children as surrogate parents, and a unique program combining volunteer care and counseling by a child welfare officer evolved. Although this facility was later shifted to a temporary shelter in a child guidance center, it successfully rehabilitated 72 girls during the three years it was open.

At present, there is one co-ed prefectural home for the training and education of juvenile delinquents. The major types of delinquency problems that the residents have are running away from home, late-night loitering and truancy from school. At this home, the focus is on guided study for children under the compulsory education system, with structured rehabilitation for youths needing such care.
Around 1950, private or community operated nursery schools providing relief from poverty, and kindergartens with nursing care were set up in almost all municipalities. These facilities were converted into day care centers with the enactment of the Child Welfare Law in 1953, and the construction of more day care centers was promoted. However, the number of unauthorized day care facilities grew due to increasing demands and inadequate financial strength in the municipalities.

After reversion to Japan, the development of day care centers was incorporated into the Okinawa Development Plan, with the number of day care centers multiplying 3.5 times in 20 years. Although the birth rate has decreased in Japan during the postwar years, Okinawa maintains the highest birth rate in the nation. In 1975, the national total fertility rate was 1.91 while Okinawa's was 2.88. Since then, with the recent drop in birth rate, the national total fertility rate in 1995 was 1.43 while Okinawa's was 1.85. Still, the natural population growth rate in this prefecture is the highest in the nation. Based on the fact that this prefecture's child care needs are high, carefully devised plans to improve child care facilities and other related areas must be implemented.

Also, due to the presence of numerous U.S. military bases in this prefecture, cases of stateless children of mixed race and mothers and children deserted by fathers returning to their homeland (or losing their fathers through death) have proven problematic. Private social welfare service groups with international networks worked independently to mediate international adoptions and supported activities such as a naturalization movement for those affected. In addition, measures were taken to further improve the welfare system through the development of child guidance centers.

(2) Single-Mother and Child Welfare

Measures for single-mother families in this prefecture are lagging behind child protection measures. In 1956, a "Legislative Request Regarding Maternal and Child Welfare Measures" was voted at the first Okinawa Prefecture Social Welfare Service Meeting, but the Maternal and Child Welfare Law was not enacted until 1968; various concrete measures were developed at that time. As background information, there was an influencing role played by the Women's Section of the Okinawa War Bereaved Families United Association, along with strenuous efforts of fatherless families, in forming an association to come together to solve their problems. A Maternal and Child Welfare Center was donated by the Assistance Association for Okinawa and Ogasawara Islands (a cooperative organization of the Japanese Government currently called the Okinawa Association). This center was passed on to the Mother and Child Welfare Association of Okinawa and activities of mother and child welfare became brisk after the administrative integration of the Association and the Maternal and Child Welfare Center.

According to a 1993 survey, the percentage of fatherless households of the total number of households in this prefecture was 5.16%, three times the average of mainland Japan. The income of fatherless households is less than half of general working households due to unstable types of work. Also, the majority of fatherless families live in private rental housing. In this light, while assisting the organization of mothers and children, measures to promote a stable life and the independence of fatherless families are being carried out. Two municipal rooming houses for fatherless families have been established.

Recently, motherless families have also increased and efforts should be made to help motherless families receive equal footing with fatherless families.

2. Welfare for People with Disabilities

(1) The Course of Welfare for People with Disabilities

In postwar Okinawa, loss of sight and other disabilities were caused by food shortages, unsanitary living conditions and the spread of disease. Furthermore, accidents caused by the detonation of unexploded shells disabled many. It is estimated that approximately 10,000 people were disabled. With the enactment of a Law for the Welfare of People with Physical Disabilities and the Child Welfare Law in 1953, welfare measures began to be implemented for children and adults with disabilities. Up to the 1960s, welfare measures were mainly concerned with children and adults with physical disabilities, and there was a belated start in the care of people with mental retardation or those with severe mental and physical disabilities. From the reversion in 1972 to the present time, welfare measures for people with disabilities have been run under the same system as other prefectures.

As of the end of March 1996, there was a total of 44,700 people with physical and mental disabilities in this prefecture, with 38,479 bearing a Physically Disabled Person's Certificate and 6,221 bearing a certificate for people affected by mental retardation. Welfare measures for these people are developed under the ideals of normalization and rehabilitation. Okinawan people have a custom of mutual assistance, of helping each other and offering kindness to the elderly and disabled. This custom, attributed to a correlation between the warm climate and human compassion, allows all people, disabled or not, to be integrated in the community. With this as a background, this prefecture implements 1) measures for social participation, 2) measures for in-home care, and 3) measures for welfare facilities, corresponding to national measures.

In October 1993, the First NGO Symposium on Asia and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993 - 2002 was held in Okinawa with great success. In the previous year, the General Assembly of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) adopted the "Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002)" and Okinawan symposium was to put into practice this proclamation of ESCAP. Many interested people from 15 member nations and 2 regions participated, in this symposium, including the people with disabilities. The symposium, information exchange and international exchange were developed with the aim of complete participation and actualization of equality for disabled people, and greatly contributed to the promotion of welfare for people with disabilities in Okinawa. After its start in Okinawa, the symposium has been held yearly, with ESCAP members taking turns as sponsor nations.

(2) Promoting Social Participation

To promote the social participation of the disabled and the elderly, it is important that all people live in a barrier-free environment, where they can move freely with a sense of security and comfort. To achieve this goal, the prefecture is moving toward the enactment of the Ordinance to Build Welfare Communities equipped with ramps and elevators accessible to all, to promote independence and social participation. Furthermore, the following programs have been implemented as measures to promote the social participation of the disabled:

1) correspondence service programs in which communications are transferred by an intermediary, using fax machines and voice messages between hearing impaired and normal hearing people

2) sending representative athletes to national sports competitions for the physically disabled and the implementation of local districts and prefectural athletic meets

3) support groups for people with disabilities which hold such activities as peer counselling programs, exchange programs, and various cultural activity programs, all to promote the social participation and independence of disabled people

4) support for the Okinawa Prefecture Sheltered Work Promotion Center which provides essential programs for the employment of disabled people

5) aid to small-scale factories which employ the mentally or physically disabled and are managed by the Association of Parents of People with Disabilities

(3) In-home Welfare Services

Following the national government-promoted plan for the disabled, this prefecture aims to improve welfare services for in-home people with disabilities by the active development of "Home Helper" or respite care, short stay, and day service programs. Besides the above, the provision of prosthetic devices, rehabilitative medical care, and the supplying of basic daily needs have been carried out to enhance welfare services for in-home people with disabilities. Furthermore, the following programs have been implemented:

1) lift-equipped taxi program: aid to purchase a lift-equipped taxi and operational costs to promote social participation and expand the sphere of action for people with severe physical disabilities

2) mobility training program for people who have lost vision after birth; carrying out of mobility training by dispatching a specialist advisor to the homes of people who have lost vision after birth

(4) Measures for Welfare Facilities

This prefecture has: 16 rehabilitation facilities for people with physical disabilities; one information service facility for people with visual or auditory disabilities; 1 welfare center for the physically disabled; 32 residential facilities for mentally retarded adults; 1 housing facility reserved for people with mental retardation; 11 facilities for children with disabilities, with each playing a role as a base for welfare services for people with disabilities.

Eight group homes have been established where the mentally retarded can live together within the community and engage in an occupation as members of society. Because group homes are effective support measures for independent social participation for the disabled, people concerned have a growing interest in them and these homes will be actively promoted in the future.

3. Prostitution Prevention Measures and Protective Care of Women

In order to support their children and aged parents during the hard times of post-war Okinawa, some women were forced to prostitute themselves to American soldiers. The business of prostitution became rampant in a military base-dependent economy, controlled by vicious criminal organizations who bound women in servitude by loaning them unpayable amounts of money.

Around 1961, a serious social problem arose with the uncovering of connections between prostitutes and criminal organizations and the existence of loans by the criminal organizations to prostitutes. The road was paved for efforts to enact a prostitution prevention law. Moved by public awareness, the early enactment of a Prostitution Prevention Law was put to vote at the All Ryukyu Convention on Social Welfare, with private groups such as the Okinawan Federation of Women sponsoring an all-island petition. This resulted in the enactment of the Prostitution Prevention Law of 1970, and as soon as this law was put into effect, education activities were developed and reinforced.

By the time of the reversion in 1972, women's rehabilitation and protective care were promoted with the opening of a women's consulting office and a protective facility for women. In addition, with the steady support of counselors for women's independence, the control of prostitution by criminal organizations violating the dignity of women drastically decreased.

Although prostitution-related consultations have decreased at the Women's Consulting Office (which is the first line organization for protective measures for women), many cases regarding spousal violence, divorce, and debt problems, and other difficulties are brought in. Therefore, consultation windows are open on a 24-hour basis and temporary shelters are open to those in need. The consultation office gives carefully thought out support to ease the pain of the visiting women and assists in "self-resolution" in the development of their independence. A protective facility has been established in this prefecture for women who need long-term shelter and guidance for independence, such as support in daily life and the seeking of employment.

4. Private Sector Social Welfare Activities

(1) Council of Social Welfare

After World War II, the number of orphans, elderly with no kin, widows, people with physical disabilities, and others, who could not survive independently or without public assistance, reached over 20,000, approximately 5% of the total population of Okinawa at that time. At the same time, problems connected with local communities like juvenile delinquency and prostitution became serious social concerns. Although the issues for social welfare were wide and diversified, relief measures by the Government of the Ryukyus were merely stopgap measures at the time. The building of a social welfare system that meets the long-term demands of a diversified nature were needed.

In 1951, the Okinawa Islands Social Welfare Council (hereafter called Shakyo or Social Council), was established out of the strong demands of private organizations; average citizens participated to enhance community welfare and charitable ideals based on social solidarity. At a time when Okinawa was recovering from the devastation of World War II, the Shakyo was the symbol of the people's solidarity.

In the early 1950s, children's misdemeanor cases, which reflected the devastated social conditions of Okinawa, occurred frequently and were becoming a serious social problem. By making efficient use of the allocation of funds from the first Community Chest conducted in Okinawa in 1952, the Shakyo established temporary protection shelters for children at Koza City (now Okinawa City) and Naha City. These temporary protection shelters achieved successful results in rehabilitative guidance through contact with the police and other related organizations, and gathered social interest. The children's temporary protection shelters were incorporated into the Central Child Guidance Center when the latter was opened with the enactment of the Child Welfare Law of 1953.

The fact that the Shakyo established and directly managed social welfare facilities soon after its start and was smoothly incorporated into administrative measures, gave full play to its ability to lead, proving that private social welfare accurately addresses and speedily responds to social needs.

After 1953, the Okinawa Council Of Social Welfare (the Shakyo was renamed in 1958) devoted its power to the organization of the Municipal Council of Social Welfare (hereafter called Shi-cho-son Shakyo or the Municipal Social Council). The organization of the Shi-cho-son Shakyo and community welfare activities were developed after the reversion in 1972. Before the reversion, there were only 12 municipal social councils in the social welfare juridical body. At present, all 53 municipal social councils are juridical bodies under the Social Welfare Service Law. Along with the reinforcement of the corporations, activities have been brisk, especially with the Shi-cho-son Shakyo, which has realized a serious responsibility as the driving force in the promotion of in-home welfare, and enthusiastically translates its responsibilities into practice.

In order to further improve the activities of the Shi-cho-son Shakyo, it is most important to support the nucleus, which are the minsei-iin or commissioned welfare volunteers and volunteer activity groups as well as to promote the understanding of social welfare and the participation of the local residents through the dissemination of welfare education at the compulsory education level. The Council of Social Welfare is the supporting and driving force for the comprehensive development of measures in medical care, health and welfare in Okinawa, a prefecture entering the 21st century as the world's foremost longevity region.

(2) Commissioned Welfare Volunteers and Child Welfare Commissioners

In 1957, the Council of Social Welfare for Okinawa placed 50 welfare committees on the Okinawan main island out of a necessity to build a nucleus for the council's activities. This system of welfare committees was uniquely developed in Okinawa, and in 1971, this system changed to the present minsei-iin (commissioned welfare volunteer) system. Besides welfare activities within the local community, the minsei-iin and jido-iin or child welfare commissioner contributed greatly to the promotion of welfare activities for the so-called "weak," and helped low income people, single-mother households, and acted as the first line for loan programs for fatherless families and widows.

The number of regular staff for minsei-iin and jido-iin has increased from the original 50 at the program's start to the present figure of 1,919; the quality of activities has improved due to a larger concentration of people delivering care. Further improvement of the program is expected.

(3) The Community Chest

>From the establishment of the Council of Social Welfare in 1952, the Red Feathers of the Community Chest campaign has developed as the symbol of the resident's community chest campaign in Okinawa. The number of private social welfare facilities and welfare activity groups in Okinawa at that time was almost nil, and a campaign was begun as part of a mutual aid program for the social welfare of the citizenry. The Community Chest programs started with the unification of the Council of Social Welfare, with the Community Chest Society serving as its main operation.

The distribution of donations gathered through Community Chest activities includes assistance to people in need of relief, such as the elderly living alone, people with disabilities and fatherless families, and assistance to private sector social welfare facilities and welfare activity groups. Thus, the Community Chest plays an important role as the main provider of assistance funds to private sector social welfare activities.

5. Welfare for the Elderly

(1) The Course of Welfare for the Elderly

The proposal, by the Council of Social Welfare in 1959, to establish Aged People's Day and Welfare Week for the Aged, became the impetus for developing welfare for the elderly in Okinawa Prefecture. Since then, the movement has fulfilled an important role in the promotion of various types of welfare programs for the elderly in Okinawa. In 1961, the Old People's Club was formed in Naha City as the first organization aimed at the improvement of aged people's welfare. Health and friendship campaigns, social service activities, and other projects were implemented and at the same time, other activities were developed which contributed to the health and welfare of the aged. The Old People's Club was expanded throughout every municipality and became a driving force for the betterment of aged people's welfare in Okinawa.

Moreover, the date for Aged People's Day (the first such day in Japan) was stipulated as September 15, 1966, and has been observed every year since as a public holiday to deepen the prefectural citizen's understanding of welfare for the elderly. The Old-Age Welfare Pension System, for people 70 years and over, started at the same time as in mainland Japan. After the reversion in 1972, efforts were emphasized to improve measures for the welfare of the elderly, which was lagging behind other prefectures, and the construction of welfare facilities and the implementation of medical care programs for the aged were promoted.

In Okinawa the present number of elderly who are aged 65 and older is 149,000 Date: Thu, 05 Dec 1996 20:52:56 +0900 From: Rie Tsunami To: rie Subject: $@!V2-Fl$Nc;K!W1Q(J (5:social.html) X-Mailer: AL-Mail 1.21 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-2022-jp against a total prefectural population of 1,270,000. The aging rate, the percentage of people within the prefecture who are 65 years or older, stands at 11.7%, much lower than the national average of 14.1%. Despite this, the aging rate is progressing on a par with the other prefectures of Japan. It is a characteristic of Okinawa Prefecture that the ratio of latter-stage elderly (75 years and older) is rather high in comparison to the national average. Also, the number of centenarians in Okinawa is the highest in all of Japan. The average life expectancy in Okinawa is again the highest in Japan, increasing more than 10 years over the past 35 years, to stand at 76.7 years for males and 84.5 years for females in 1990, as compared to 66.4 years for males and 72.5 years for females in 1955. Now we have truly progressed to an era where people live for 80 years.

This prefecture anticipated the rapid increase in the number of elderly. Taking this into account, the Okinawa Prefecture Health and Welfare Plan for the Elderly was adopted with the aim of building a vital and prosperous society for the aged, worthy of being called the prefecture of longevity. In addition, in conforming with the national government's new "Golden Plan," carefully thought out measures have been developed to promote various programs wherein the municipalities, as the closest administrative organ to the people, act as the nucleus for the programs.

(2) The Development of Care Facilities for the Elderly

Since the reversion, the development of special nursing homes and other similar facilities for the aged has been systematically furthered as a basis for the promotion of welfare for the elderly in each community. Currently, 55 special nursing homes are set up in 40 out of a total 53 municipalities.

This is a high level of development even compared to the national standard, and contributes greatly to the advancement of welfare for the elderly in Okinawa. Besides providing long term care to the elderly at each of the nursing homes in the community, the nursing homes support activities that nurture self-reliance in familiar surroundings such as implementing a meal delivery service for those elderly living alone and providing transportation services to and from the nursing homes.

Since this prefecture has many hard-to-reach outlying areas, small scale care homes for the elderly (with a capacity of 30 people) and multi-purpose senior citizen welfare centers (with a capacity of about 10 people) equipped with functions for both admission and day care services, are being planned in these regions. In addition to this, in order to implement full medical welfare for the elderly, health service facilities for the aged that are properly equipped for medical care and rehabilitation, and that have home-visit programs for in-home elderly in need of care, are being developed.

(3) Welfare Services for the In-home Elderly

In this prefecture, various welfare services have been set up, such as day care and short stay services as well as the dispatching of home helpers as needed so that the elderly who live alone and are in need of care can maintain an independent lifestyle within the community where they have lived their lives. Furthermore, in regards to in-home care, a system has been set up at old people's homes, hospitals and service facilities for the aged so that families can receive necessary advice and guidance for the care of the elderly on a 24-hour basis. Additionally, the following programs have been advanced:

1) Friendship Home-visit Promotion Services: dispatching of community volunteers as home-visit staff to reduce loneliness and confirm the safety of the elderly, with the entire community supporting the self-reliance of the aged.

2) Short-term Care and Rehabilitation Training Program for the In-home Elderly: care for the in-home elderly who have physical function difficulties caused by the after-effects of apoplexy and other ailments and help them recover the ability to live a normal life and to prevent further disorders.

3) Mobile Care Guidance Program for the In-home Elderly on Outlying Islands: teaching non-medical care, basic knowledge and skills for the health care of the elderly to the families of bedridden or senile elderly, to alleviate the mental burden of these families.

(4) A Worthwhile Long Life for the Elderly

In order to realize a vital and happy society for the aged, the following are under promotion throughout Okinawa Prefecture so that each and every elderly person can lead a healthy and fulfilling life: the securing of learning opportunities throughout one's lifetime and social participation to make the most of the knowledge and experience the elderly have attained in their long lives. To maintain the health of the elderly, recreational events such as the Kariyushi Festival are held for citizens, and competitions in gateball (a form of croquet) and ground golf (a similar game) are held in each community. Also, the "University of Longevity" has been opened for students 60 years and over, where various cultural and practical departments aim for a sustained vitality for the elderly. Also, the promotion of exchange among elderly people and programs for self-education and the "Okinawa Wings of Longevity Project" for mutual exchange with other prefectures, as well as other projects are being implemented in Okinawa today.

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