To improve the quality of fully self-paid "housekeeping support services," the government's Japan Growth Strategy Council proposed establishing a national qualification in April this year. The goal is to prevent people from quitting their jobs due to nursing care or childcare and to enhance service quality and reliability, with the first examination expected to be held in the autumn of next year.
Vる + 見通しだ= Indicates an outlook or projection that an event is scheduled or expected to take place.
Services that support nursing care include "nursing care insurance services," where users pay 10% to 30% of the cost out of pocket depending on their income, and "non-insurance services," which users pay for entirely out of pocket. While visiting care covered by nursing care insurance is provided by certified helpers, housekeeping support outside insurance can be provided even by people without specialized nursing care qualifications.
N + に応じて= Means "depending on N" or "in accordance with N," indicating that something changes or corresponds to N.
Nursing care insurance, established in 2000, began with the aim of "socializing nursing care"—having society as a whole support care that had previously been borne by families. It has now become an essential social infrastructure for the daily lives of elderly people, and non-insurance services have been expanding to fill its gaps.
While ensuring service quality is welcomed, care managers creating care plans on the ground are voicing concerns. If expanding non-insurance services in the name of a "growth strategy" leads to a reduction in nursing care insurance services, it could well defeat the purpose not just for practitioners but for users as well. Worry is spreading on the ground over the future of nursing care, with concerns that disparities among users may widen depending on whether or not they can afford out-of-pocket costs.
Vる + 一方で= Connects two contrasting aspects: "while on one hand ..., on the other hand ..."N + の名の下に= Means "in the name of N" or "under the pretext of N," often framing an action with critical nuance.Vます + かねない= Indicates a risk or possibility of a negative result: "could easily lead to" or "might well result in."
Learning Notes
Grammar Patterns
Pattern
Meaning
Vる + 見通しだ
Indicates an outlook or projection that an event is scheduled or expected to take place.
N + に応じて
Means "depending on N" or "in accordance with N," indicating that something changes or corresponds to N.
Vる + 一方で
Connects two contrasting aspects: "while on one hand ..., on the other hand ..."
N + の名の下に
Means "in the name of N" or "under the pretext of N," often framing an action with critical nuance.
Vます + かねない
Indicates a risk or possibility of a negative result: "could easily lead to" or "might well result in."
putting the cart before the horse;mistaking the means for the end;getting one's priorities backwards
Language Insights
•The phrase「介護の社会化」(socialization of care) was a central slogan when Japan launched the Long-Term Care Insurance system in 2000, establishing elder care as a collective societal responsibility rather than solely a family burden.
•The four-character idiom (yojijukugo)「本末転倒」(putting the cart before the horse) is often used in public discourse when policy implementation ends up undermining the core objective it was meant to serve.
•In Japanese elder care policy,「保険外サービス」(services outside insurance) refers to commercial, fully self-funded services that cover domestic and personal needs falling outside the strict criteria of public nursing care insurance.