The senior housing market is moving beyond simply providing living space, with "smart care" that combines advanced technology emerging as a key competitive edge. That is because surging care demand and chronic labor shortages must be addressed at the same time. The Bank of Korea projected that in about 20 years, the care services sector could face a shortfall of up to 1.55 million workers. In other words, a model that relies only on human labor for care has reached its limits.
Santafe Garden Hills in Ota Ward, Tokyo, visited on Jan. 23, is one of Japan's leading pioneers in smart care. As an elder care facility, it actively uses a range of information technology (IT), including care robots and artificial intelligence (AI). It is regarded as a frontline facility for future-oriented smart care that domestic and overseas officials visit to benchmark, including former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and former Digital Minister Taro Kono, as well as other key Japanese cabinet members.
The facility has a variety of smart devices that assist with care. Under the mattress in each room is a device that can monitor breathing, heart rate and sleep status. On the ceiling, an infrared camera with AI technology, "HitomeQ Care Support," analyzes residents' movements to detect falls and other incidents in real time. There is also "DFree," a device attached to the abdomen that uses ultrasound to indicate the volume of urine in the bladder. Zenkokai also developed its own software to turn collected data—such as sleep, meals, bowel movements and medications—into usable information.
Care workers wearing bone-conduction earphones and carrying smartphones and tablets said they can now look after residents more efficiently. Ayako Yoshimura, Zenkokai Deputy Minister, said, "Before introducing smart care, walking more than 20,000 steps a day was routine," and added, "Now we can respond at the right time and place when there is a warning signal, which has reduced our physical and mental burden. It also helps improve care quality because we do not disturb residents' sleep."
As for care robots, there is the mobility-assistance robot "Hug." Hug is a robot that eases the burden of movement. As its name suggests, it looks like it is opening its arms wide for a hug. I tried it myself. I relaxed completely and leaned my chest against the soft cushion on the front of the robot. After a staff member pressed a few buttons, my body tilted forward and I was able to stand up without exerting extra effort. I was worried about slipping, but Hug supported my body more firmly than I expected. Then, after releasing the locking mechanism, the wheeled Hug could be moved with little force. In the past, this would have required two strong staff members to use their strength, but now a single worker can help a resident move to the bathroom while checking their complexion.
Major Korean builders are also trying to incorporate care robots into senior housing in step with this trend. Samsung C&T institutional sector Construction conducted a pilot of a "home AI companion robot" service from September to December last year for residents of Samsung Noble County, a senior dwellings complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and Raemian One Bailey and Raemian One Pentas in Banpo-dong, Seocho District, Seoul. Developed mainly for single seniors or senior couples, the robot is about 30 cm tall, 21 cm wide and 20 cm deep, and weighs around 4 kg, and can express emotions through a 5-inch screen. Hyundai and GS Engineering & Construction are also developing and expanding AI-based healthcare services for residents, though not robots.
In Korea, however, smart care is still in its infancy. Care robots are limited to simple conversation functions, voice calling, Internet of Things (IoT) device control and emergency alerts. A survey by the Health Insurance Research Institute under the National Health Insurance Service of long-term care facility managers found that only 3.9% of institutions use care robots. While respondents said robots are needed to reduce the physical and mental burden on staff, high expense and the difficulty of use for on-site personnel were cited as obstacles.
Japan, by contrast, has actively supported the introduction of smart care at the government level since the 2010s. In 2012, it selected six key priority areas for the development and dissemination of care robots—referred to locally as "kaigo robots"—and began providing subsidies for related products. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has implemented a system to subsidize up to 75% of the purchase expense of designated care robots, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has been providing research funding to robot developers. The 2026 budget proposal for the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare allocates significant resources for the development of care technologies and support for their introduction in nursing facilities.
Zenkokai, which began research on the use of care robots in 2009, is among those receiving support from the Japanese government. Zenkokai established a research institute dedicated to care robot research and also operates a private certification program aimed at training "smart care workers." About 12,000 people have obtained this certification so far, and some care workers come to this facility for practical training.
Facility Director Tatsuya Toyama said, "In the beginning, manufacturers provided products on a trial basis, but over the past 10 years we have received support from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for three-quarters or one-half of the device introduction expense," and explained, "The purpose of smart care is not to make care workers comfortable, but to improve the quality of direct care by reducing the physical workload—such as assigning simple, repetitive tasks to robots."
[Senior town field notes] ① Visiting the Japanese elder dwellings Kokopan… meals and nursing care included for 1.5 million won a month
[Senior town field notes] ② A child raised in a multigenerational nursing home returns as a childcare teacher
[Senior town field notes] ④ In downtown Seoul, in the 2 million won range per month… lowering the bar from being the preserve of the wealthy
[Senior town field notes] ⑤ Elder dwellings 600 times those of Korea… how Japan became a "paradise for the elderly"