Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/52325

KEYWORDS : Creating;community;ageing;society;elderly;providers;non-profit;communal;services

Japan is a rapidly ageing country. The population over the age of 65 accounted for 7.1%of the total population in 1970,but increased to 14.5%in 1994,21.5%in 2007,and 23.3%in 2011,rendering the country the most aged the world over(1). For some 20 years after 1970,the elderly were altogether considered as having health-related problems,unproductive,and mere beneficiaries of various social welfare services. However,as the fact that more than 80%of the elderly have no severe health problems has come to be widely recognised,due attention has been paid to positive aspects of life of the elderly;the elderly can and do play active roles in society, particularly in the context of neighbourhood. From the perspective of community sociology,this paper discusses some of the issues and challenges related to social participation of the elderly in Sapporo. The discussions will utilise both survey and qualitative data the author has collected through official statistics and field research by means of participant observation in addition to a series of semi/un-structured interviews with neighbourhood associations and elderly participants in locality-based activities. The elderly in urban areas are generally keen to participate in society. As Japan continues ageing,it is necessary to propose ways of their social participation that can reinforce and/or be alternatives to the conventional one via the neighbourhood association. In the case of Sapporo analysed later,the elderly utilise their knowledge and skills in a non-profit and intergenerational fashion. The present paper puts forward this‘non-profit communal social participation’of the elderly as a model of community building and examines it with a view to contributing to the research in this subject area.