| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
Fiscal Year 1992: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
Fiscal Year 1991: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study is to clarify real lives and needs of the aged living in Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan, by using a questionnaire from sociological, social educational, and psychological point of view. To find the typical area in Hokkaido, we first investigated the official documents, such as a national census and industrial population, and two cities, Iwamizawa and Mikasa, were chosen. These cities differ in terms of its size, structure of industry, and relative number of the aged. Iwamizawa has a steady population of 85 thousand and its main industries are agriculture, commerce, the tertiary industry. On the other hand, Mikasa was once a prosperous city with coal-mining, but now it lost its main industry, reducing its population down to 17 thousand in 1990. The proportion of over 65 also differs between the two cities, for Iwamizawa 12.5% and for Mikasa 21.7%.
One thousand and eight hundred inhabitants in Iwamizawa and Mikasa, aged from 65 to 84, were randomly sampled and sent the questionnaire. The result of this survey shows that many of the aged in Iwamizawa are retirees whose occupations were school teachers, Japan National Railway workers, public officials, and coal-mining company workers. They received higher education and now are getting enough pension. On the other hand, there are certain number of the aged in Mikasa who are retired coal-mining workers getting enough pension, but there are also non-workers living on relief. These differences between two the cities influence their social networks and activities, use of public institutions and needs.
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