A universal health care insurance system was introduced in Japan in 1961, but this covered only half of older people's total medical costs, leaving many without access to medicine and medical treatment. Pastels and pinks are still used, as well as delicate florals and polka dots, but are used more sparingly. According to the public opinion survey conducted by the Yokohama City Board of Education in March 2004, among minors, new adults, and people in their 20s, approximately 20% to 30% viewed the Coming of Age Ceremony as an event like a reunion where friends meet again. If the eligibility for the Coming of Age Ceremony is based on the school age, those born after the Coming of Age Day and before April 2 must attend the Ceremony a year later than their peers. The ultimate goal of children, whether they were male or female, was to successfully carry on their family's tradition and reputation.

Their subsequent growth followed provision of free health care for most over-70s in 1973 and a surge in elderly admissions: by 1980 there were 432,000 hospital inpatients aged 65 or more, four per cent of all over-65s. Similar to all Girly substyles, Adult Girly focuses on "girly" fashion, but with a more grown-up twist.Interestingly, at Pokkuri-dera (literally 'sudden-death without suffering') temple near Kyoto, over 40,000 elderly visitors annually placed underclothing before the Buddha, praying 'please let me die peacefully before I am no longer able to change my underclothing and have to face shame and burden my family'. Just as the sons of aristocracy underwent the ceremony of genpuku to signify their adulthood, so did the sons of warrior nobility. Coming of Age Day ( 成人の日, Seijin no Hi ) is a public holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday of January under the Happy Monday System. However, innovative thinking about alternative resources to supplement LTCI provision and family care will be required. Today, those who legally become adults between April of the previous year and March of the current year are eligible to participate in the ceremony.

Admission was needs-based, but there was a sliding scale of fees for residents and their families according to their means. The child had to acquire a "capping parent", usually a person of influence, who would help the child don the ritual clothing of adulthood, most significantly a ceremonial court hat (kanmuri).Meanwhile, the government retained supplementary and means-tested measures in flagship nursing home provision, still stigmatised and in scarce supply. Admission to these 'assessed institutions' was determined by local authorities through means- and needs-assessments of applicants and their families. Japan's post-war Constitution ostensibly assumed state responsibility for all citizens and its 1950 National Assistance Act required local authorities to provide old people's institutions for those unable to live independently. At the same time, they are released from the various family and social restrictions imposed on minors.

Yet people who were considered able-bodied, non-solitary, 'lazy' or morally inadequate were still excluded, recipients had no rights to poor relief and were disfranchised. Both the capping parent and the biological parents made preparations for the ceremony, but the capping parent was more active in making arrangements. Do some reading about Japanese etiquette, and you can also find some videos on the topic on YouTube under The Japan Channel.This paper examines three long-term care arrangements: public residential provision, family care and hospitalisation, allowing for cultural norms, particularly traditional values of filial piety and the stigma surrounding institutionalisation of older people (often associated with Obasuteyama or 'granny-dump mountain'). Thus official emphasis remained firmly upon family care, with older hospital patients seen as financial burdens rather than victims. These semi mature and mature Japanese Maple trees (up to 2 metres in height) have all received expert care and professional pruning during their development to make wonderfully shaped trees with fantastic foliage. Coming of age ceremonies have been celebrated in Japan since at least 714 CE, during the reign of Empress Genmei when a young prince donned new robes and a hairstyle to mark his passage into adulthood.