Comparing Carers' Policies in Six East Asian Welfare States

Informal caregiving has emerged as a challenging issue in the six East Asian welfare states: Chinese Mainland (Chapter 2), Japan (Chapter 3), Korea (Chapter 4), Singapore (Chapter 5), Taiwan (Chapter 6), and Hong Kong (Chapter 7). These societies are deeply influenced by Confucius’ filial piety and familism, and family members are expected to care for frail elderly people and sick members. However, traditional family caregiving capacity has been weakened by an ageing population, small household size, migration, the decline in co-residence, and women’s employment. In response to these changes, the six economies have adopted various measures to alleviate the burden on family carers, including long-term care insurance schemes, home- and community-based support services, carers’ leave, and training for informal caregivers and foreign domestic workers. These measures have reduced some caregiving burden on family carers but have encountered various challenges, including inadequate support services, public finance constraints, and gender inequality in care. By promoting the well-being of carers and care recipients, East Asian governments must provide adequate financial assistance to poor carers, offer comprehensive home- and community-based support services, and pass legislation to provide greater employment protection for working carers.