Prospects and Challenges of the Social Security System and in Realising “Regional Cohesive Societies”

Abstract

Society in Japan is becoming super-aged while depopulation and deindustrialisation are also progressing at the same time. Different regions face different challenges, and the resources that each region can use to tackle those challenges also vary. Community governance, which enhances the capacity of the community itself through the efforts made to address issues in that community, is crucial in this context. This chapter takes the view that the direction towards regional cohesive societies has an aspect of “communitisation”. In the cases discussed in this chapter, the key is the enhancement of community capacity and self-governing capabilities, which are enabled through the implementation of practical activities, which in turn contributes to making the residents more committed and to sharing their understanding of the issues, and to building networks.