Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

We face a serious ageing society. The population of the elderly with dementia is sharply increasing as adults live longer. We thus need some effective public policy to protect the elderly with dementia. Nowadays legislative system is progressing mainly in Europe, the US, Australia, and Canada in order to protect vulnerable adults including the elderly with dementia from possible risks for abuse including financial exploitation, neglect, self-neglect, and so on. In Japan, a new law was introduced in 2016 to promote adult guardianship system as one of necessary measures. It is assumed that we need various public policy measures so that citizens may choose whatever it is suitable and necessary by their own choice because autonomy and the right to self-determination are the most important. In advanced states, adult protection legislative system seems to refer to a comprehensive package of laws aiming at protecting vulnerable adults by the least restrictive measures as long as it is necessary, taking adults’ will and preferences into consideration. In other words, human rights are highly respected. The other importance is the balance between state responsibility and citizen rights. The adult protection legislative systems considered in this study are valuable to consider further and adopt in Japan in the future.