## Overview

## Outline of Social Welfare Facilities

The purpose of social welfare facilities is to care and nurture anyone requiring various types of services to be able to lead a social life, including the elderly, children, persons with mental and physical disabilities, and the indigent, and to provide them with various treatment and training on rehabilitation in thus improving their welfare.

Social welfare facilities can be roughly divided into welfare facilities for the elderly, support facilities for persons with disabilities, public assistance facilities, women's protection facilities, and child welfare facilities, among others.

Number and capacity of social welfare facilities by classification

Classification	Number of facilities	User capacity
Total	(facility) 89,277	(person) 3,255,206
[1] Classification by implementing entity
Public	19,938	1,006,601
Private	69,339	2,248,605
[2] Classification by target age group
Facilities for adults	57,088	1,118,790
Facilities for children	32,189	2,136,416

Source: “Survey of Social Welfare Institutions” (as of October 1, 2010) and “Survey of Institutions and Establishments for Long-term Care” (as of October 1, 2010), Statistics and Information Department, Minister’s Secretariat, MHLW (Note) There is a change in the response rate due to different survey methods, etc.

## Cost Bearing with the Development and Operation of Social Welfare Facilities

The cost of developing social welfare facilities is paid by the public through state and local subsidies, special local bonds, loans from the Welfare and Medical Service Agency, and a part of the profits from public racing events, as well as by private aid systems, and by loan systems for any portion borne by the facility, etc.

The following table shows, in principle, the cost sharing relationship associated with the state subsidy for the cost of any capital investment in buildings used as social welfare facilities.

Cost sharingFounder	National government	Prefectures (including designated cities and core cities)	Municipalities	Social welfare foundations, etc.
Social welfare foundations, etc.	50100	25100	—	25100

(Note) From FY 2005 the cost of developing facilities for the elderly or facilities related to children, which were both previously incorporated into a social welfare facility development expense subsidy, is now incorporated into a social welfare facility development expense/grant for community care and welfare space development subsidy, and a grant for developing facilities in promoting measures to support the development of the next generation, respectively.

With regard to strategic policies of development in FY 2008 priority will be given to $ [1] $ those actively utilizing wood, including timber constructions, wooden interiors, and using timber products, etc., in thus contributing to the development of comfortable serene living environments for those admitted and the establishment of an environmentally-sound material cycle society, $ [2] $ those that promote asbestos removal, and $ [3] $ those that promote the quakeproofing of the facilities, etc.

The cost of operating social welfare facilities (placement expenses) is borne by those admitted to the facilities or allowed use of them or have commissioned a third party to do so, and as described in the following table.