One said she would sweep up the leaves on the balcony, while another would clean the windows.

The three women helping to clean the apartment of an elderly couple in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture do not do such work for a living. They are from the neighborhood, and are part of a growing trend of communities banding together amid the aging society to help out the elderly, who often can have difficulty doing such household chores as taking out the garbage and cleaning up.

The aim is to create a community that allows the elderly to continue living there.

The trio of women cleaning the Kashiwa apartment of a couple aged 86 and 84 last month are members of a volunteer group to provide such support in the city’s Hikarigaoka district. The wife, who reached out to the group for help, said with a smile, “Since I fell and broke my leg, I cannot do cleaning. This is a big help.”

Launched in April this year, the group has 14 female members. So far, it has received requests from about 20 people, and helped out 70 times, doing such chores as taking out the garbage and tidying up rooms. A nominal fee of ¥100 is charged for taking out the garbage, and ¥200 per half-hour for shopping or cleaning. Payment is made directly to the volunteers.

“It’s things like bringing the garbage to the first floor of an apartment block that the elderly have difficulty doing,” said Keiko Morimoto, 70, who heads the group. “A little bit of help makes their lives easier, and allows them to continue living in the home they know so well.”

The Kashiwa municipal government, looking to set up a system for lifestyle support of the elderly, has entrusted the development of mutual support activities to the Kashiwa city social welfare council, and provides subsidies to groups engaging in such activities. In fiscal 2018, a total of about 1,470 volunteers were registered with 51 groups, and about 1,880 people used mutual support services.

The central government is also providing a boost for regional mutual support activities. In 2015, a revision to the nursing care insurance system allows municipalities to use funds from the system to employ coordinators and others to promote mutual support activities.

Municipalities are taking a variety of measures to spread such activities.

The Edogawa Ward office in Tokyo dispatches a resident who heads a volunteer group as an instructor to condominium management associations and apartment block residents’ associations that hope to start such activities. The ward office started the project in April 2018 and two apartment block residents’ associations have already received briefings.

In Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, the city government has created a manual for residents hoping to start such activities. It is filled with concrete advice on various aspects, such as “conducting a survey to better grasp needs” and “using word of mouth as an effective tool to recruit volunteers.” The manual is available on the city’s website.

The helpers themselves are also coming up with ideas. Many among them are also elderly, and a large number of groups make individual phone calls to initiate contact and make arrangements. A Fukuoka-based group launched in 2012 tries to reduce the burden by simultaneously sending emails to 40 volunteers following a request.

Mikio Hishinuma, an associate professor at the Japan College of Social Work and an expert on regional welfare issues, has a theory on what is behind the spread of mutual support activities.

“More and more people are gaining a sense that the number of elderly having difficulty with daily chores is increasing, while [recent] natural disasters has raised awareness of the necessity of mutual aid among residents,” Hishinuma said.

“I also hope that when helping out with chores, the volunteers ask those they are helping about their feelings so that it also provides moral support,” he added.

The Japan News / ANN