Japanese community pulls together to provide for its residents

YOKOHAMA // The Japanese word for a large cluster of apartment buildings of a particular style and design, typically built as public housing by the government, is “danchi”.

The Japan Housing Corporation, now known as the Urban Renaissance Agency, was founded in 1955. During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the JHC built many danchis in suburban areas to offset the housing demand of the then-increasing Japanese population.

Today, some danchis, such as Wakabadai Danchi, are working to prepare for more senior residents.

"In a few years' time, we will see a decline in the population of Yokohama, currently 3,728,021," says Naoki Otomo, the housing division director for the City of Yokohama's housing architecture bureau. "But the population of residents over 65 is increasing," Mr Otomo tells The National.

Located on a hill to the north-west of the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture bordering Tokyo Prefecture, Wakabadai Danchi covers 900,000 square metres, making it one of the largest such complexes in Yokohama. Although it is more than 3 kilometres from the nearest train station, a frequent bus service provides it with good access to the city centre.

The service connects to eight train stations, with buses running every two minutes at peak hours, and every three minutes at other times. “We are campaigning to have a train station here,” says Hiroki Yamagishi of the Wakabadai Residents’ Association Alliance (WRAA).

Almost everything necessary to live a normal life is located in the danchi, including a hospital, a post office, an elementary school and a junior high school. There is also a shopping arcade with a large supermarket, a beauty salon, clothing stores and restaurants, as well as several sports facilities and multiple parks.

Residents are working with the management company and local government on initiatives such as keeping an eye on senior residents to help prevent “kodokushi”, the Japanese term for people who die alone and unnoticed. For example, neighbours can check if newspapers are stacking up in mailbox slots, says the Wakabadai non-profit organisation (NPO) director Masaaki Shiraiwa. Originally the local social welfare council, which argued for support for local seniors, parents and people with disabilities, the council became an official NPO in 2009.

"Of course, that is not enough to ensure safety in the community, but it is important to keep watch on older people," Mr Shiraiwa tells The National.

Developed by the Kanagawa-ken Juutaku Kyuukohsha (Kanagawa Prefectural Housing Supply Corporation, or KJK), Wakabadai Danchi began accepting residents in 1978. With 792 rental units in seven buildings and 5,186 units for sale in 66 buildings, there are a total of 6,304 residential units in the danchi, among the most of any in Yokohama, and as of August 2016 there were 14,658 residents.

WRAA has worked actively to resolve issues facing the danchi, planning events such as a summer festival to encourage interaction between residents and make the danchi feel like home for their children, as well as working with KJK and the local government on projects to support seniors and young families.

Initiatives from the Wakabadai NPO include a location for parents with children up to three years old to gather, where children can play; a food facility staffed mainly by women living in the danchi, which provides home-style meals, and an office space mainly used by mothers for special events and information sharing. There is also a community space with a lifestyle support centre for seniors.

The home-visit nursing station and home care support office Asagao are operated by Akaeda Hospital, the Wakabadai Danchi hospital. Staffed in rotation by four nurses and two care managers from the hospital, Asagao provides residents with 24-hour medical and nursing care services at home.

The Wakabadai Community Care Plaza provides consultations on parenting and nursing care, and day care for seniors, one of 133 community care plazas in Yokohama. These centres for welfare and health services hold classes for seniors once a week on exercises to help stay fit.

“Only 12 per cent of [Wakabadai Danchi] residents are certified as requiring nursing care, the lowest of the 12 care plazas in Asahi ward, and also significantly lower than the 17.5 per cent for all Yokohama,” the facility director Chieko Ikeda tells The National.

Wakabadai Danchi is seen as a model example of how to revitalise society, says Kokichi Shoji, a professor of sociology at the University of Tokyo.

However, Japan’s population is declining, and the number of young people is decreasing. “So even if [apartment complexes like Wakabadai Danchi] try to attract young people and young families, they will not come [in great numbers],” Mr Shoji says.

Another University of Tokyo professor of sociology, Chizuko Ueno, says examples where residents independently create NPO corporations at apartment complexes such as Wakabadai Danchi are rare.

“It would be advantageous to have a network between residents” at all such complexes, says Ms Ueno, a specialist on ageing in society who has served as an adviser for another danchi in Yokohama.

In Ms Ueno’s assessment, being more than 3km away from the nearest train station, Wakabadai Danchi’s weakest point is location. “When convenience is higher, even if apartment buildings get somewhat old, the younger generation will move in,” she says.

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