303 Ageing in place for minority ethnic adults in Japan - a systems thinking approach - EP3.2

Sep 30, 2026

Japan’s super-aged society and rising ethnic diversity in urban areas shape how older foreign residents experience “ageing in place.” The study examines community and organizational support, and how working practices evolve over time for ethnic minority adults in Japan. Using a systems thinking approach, semi-structured interviews are conducted with local governments, religious facilities, and nonprofit organizations in Kyoto, Osaka, and Hyogo to identify roles, organizational change, and support needs for ageing. Findings highlight increasing nationality diversity, multilingual care demands, gendered health differences, and religion-linked mental health support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

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Objective

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2nd World Congress on Migration, Ethnicity, Race & Health Abstract Book vi139 Abstract citation ID: ckaf180.386 303 Ageing in place for minority ethnic adults in Japan: a systems thinking approach Yoko Aihara1 1Okayama University, Okayama, Japan EP3.2, e-Poster Terminal 3, September 3, 2025, 13:05-14:00 Objective: Japan currently faces the super aged society and becoming more ethnically diverse especially in urban cities. Age-friendly communities relate to the context of well-being and healthy ageing of older adults. However, little known about the experiences of ageing in place among ethnic minority communities in Japan. The study aims to explore experiences of community and organizations support and changing the ways of their working for older foreign residents over time using a systems thinking approach. Methods: The study fields are metropolitan area in Kyoto, Osaka, and Hyogo prefectures where ageing rate of foreign residents over 10% . Semi-structured interviews were conducted target to local governments, religious facilities, and non-profit organizations. The questions were their roles of supporting ageing in place for foreign residents and how their organizations may have changed the ways of working for ethnic minority communities. Results: In total 8 organizations were interviewed. All the local governors indicated that the nationalities of the elderly foreign population are becoming increasingly diverse. A decade ago, 70% of older foreigners were from Korea and had lived in Japan since wartime; therefore, few language communication challenges. However, nowadays multilingual translation is required and one city has recently passed an ordinance on intercultural care. Nonprofit organizations indicated gender differences in health. Religious institutions play an important role for mental health, and recent challenges are focused on cemetery and end-of-life care. Conclusions: Social infrastructures such as a religious spaces play key role in enhancing opportunities and social interactions for ethnic minority people in Japan. For further study, the study draw causal loop diagrams from various data from ethnic minorities age over 50 years for deriving insights of structures of social, psychological and physical environments of age-friendly communities.

FAQs

What is the objective of the study?

To explore experiences of community and organizational support and how organizational working approaches change over time for older foreign residents using a systems thinking approach.

Where and with whom were the interviews conducted?

In the metropolitan areas of Kyoto, Osaka, and Hyogo, interviewing local governments, religious facilities, and nonprofit organizations.

What key challenges and changes did organizations report over time?

Organizations noted increasing diversity of nationalities among elderly foreign residents, a shift from mostly Korea-origin residents with fewer language barriers to a need for multilingual translation, including local ordinances for intercultural care.

What does the study conclude about social infrastructure?

Social infrastructures, especially religious spaces, are crucial for enhancing opportunities and social interactions for ethnic minority people in Japan.

Sep 30, 2026

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