Korea is a super-aged society, with 1 in 5 people 65 or older. But preparation for healthy later life "senior housing" is insufficient. Elderly welfare dwellings known as senior towns number only 43 nationwide. The number of units supplied is small, and the expense is not trivial. If not an elderly welfare dwelling, the only option is a nursing home. Nursing homes can be used only when daily life is difficult due to dementia or other geriatric diseases. There is no alternative for the "middle class" and "active seniors." Urgent improvements are needed for problems such as closed structures centered on older adults, lack of interaction with local communities, and lagging smart care services. We visited Japan, which entered a super-aged society 20 years before Korea, to see how it became a paradise of senior towns. We also looked at how our society should move forward. [Editor's note]
"For dinner tonight I'm going to make shōgayaki (ginger pork) with my husband. I like it because they apply the same sale as the supermarket down in the neighborhood."
On Jan. 22, we visited Cocopan Kawasaki Takatsu, a service high-age dwelling (Sakoju) in the suburbs of Tokyo. At 3 p.m., the empty lobby transformed in a flash into a bustling neighborhood supermarket. Suzuki Yoshiko (alias, 81), who lives here, said, "I usually eat meals provided in the dining hall, but something good happened today, so I'm going to have something special."
Green display stands were placed throughout, filled with about 400 items including vegetables, fruit, and snacks. The mobile supermarket vehicle parked in front of the lobby was packed with fresh foods such as small-packaged meat and fish and dairy products. Watching residents with shopping baskets carefully check expiration dates and pick out side dishes, it was easy to mistake this place for an ordinary urban market rather than a Sakoju.
This is a welfare-care complex created by Gakken Group, which started as a workbook company in 1946 and grew into Japan's largest education and medical welfare corporations. In a four-story building, it houses a Sakoju, a home-visit care office, a group home for older adults with dementia (small shared dwellings), Gakken learning classes for children, and child development support facilities. Built by the private sector with subsidies, tax incentives, and loan benefits from the government, Sakoju is a type of Japanese senior town where social workers and others are stationed.
One of the features we noticed while touring Cocopan that day is that residents can live much as they did before moving in. In fact, in addition to the mobile supermarket, a bakery, yogurt vendor, and hair salon visit regularly to provide services. The hair salon even offers head spa treatments, making it popular enough to have a reservation waitlist. Because of this, they increased the number of visiting businesses from one to two.
The on-site dining hall is decorated like a hotel buffet or banquet hall. Hanano Takahiro, head of Cocopan Kawasaki Takatsu, said, "We paid attention to everything from lighting and interior to the paintings on the walls to provide an experience closer to dining out, not the feeling of 'eating in a care facility.'" In other words, it can be seen as a middle-ground concept between a home and a care facility, where residents can maintain daily life while receiving services such as meals and nursing care.
Japan's senior housing market in the past was split, like Korea's today, between high-priced senior towns and elderly care facilities for low-income people. Noting that there were few facilities for the middle class—where demand is highest—to spend a healthy later life, Gakken Group opened Cocopan in 2004. It now operates about 200 complexes nationwide, and revenue from this medical welfare business has grown to a level similar to its existing education sector. Cocopan also became a model for Sakoju when the Japanese government introduced it in 2011.
Cocopan's biggest feature is that residents can live on around 1.5 million won, the average middle-class pension, while receiving 24-hour nursing care services. For one person, there are two types of units: care type (18㎡) and independent type (25㎡). Based on a single room, the total expense is in the 1.3 million won range and the 1.4 million won range per month, respectively. This is similar to the average pension benefits (employees' pension + national pension) of older adults in Japan, and is considered a price that does not place a heavy burden on the middle class.
There are also double rooms for couples. All have bathrooms and kitchens, and come in three sizes: 35㎡, 40㎡, and 54㎡. The largest is designed in the popular Japanese 1LDK layout (a combined living room, dining room, and kitchen). Double rooms can also be used for 1.8 million to 2.3 million won per month. Of course, such monthly fees include rent and common area maintenance charges, as well as life support services such as care worker management and health consultations. Meals, provided at 5,000 to 6,000 won per meal, are optional, and dining out or delivery is free.
Hanano said, "Cocopan is designed as a housing model for 'living here to the end,' meaning residents can live here until the end of life," adding, "In fact, in some couples who lived together, one received a dementia diagnosis and moved to the 'group home,' while the other continued to live in the upstairs senior dwelling." Hanano added, "It means a lot to families that they don't have to be split up into different facilities."
Behind the feasibility of this "cost-effective" senior dwelling is support from the Japanese government and local authorities. Gakken Group is an operator, not the owner of the land and buildings. This facility was also built on a site owned by Kawasaki City, and Gakken Group was selected as the Sakoju operator through a public offering in 2020. Based on low rent and with various forms of government support, they can provide high-quality care services at affordable prices. Through such support, since Sakoju was introduced in 2011, it has increased to about 300,000 households across Japan.