Enhancing housing affordability and social care in Japan and UK - comparative evaluation of policy and practice

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The rapid increase in house prices and resultant worsening affordability in urban areas have become common challenges in many advanced economies, including Japan and the UK. Accordingly, an extensive body of academic literature and policy reports has explored the factors contributing to these challenges and the impacts on society and national economy. Affordability is particularly problematic for first time buyers and younger households who want to take a first step on the housing ladder. Nevertheless, both countries are facing a volatile housing market. In UK while affordability has been a major concern since the recovery from the 2008 crash, there is a risk that post Brexit event will now lead to more instability and possibly decline of house price. In Japan on the other hand while Tokyo housing market is characterised by rapid housing price increases the situation in other cities remains more stagnant. This instability can potentially have a major negative impact on social care provision for the aging population in both countries. The integrative role of housing in social care and welfare policy has become an increasingly prevalent issue in academia and practice emphasising asset-based welfare in both countries. In Japan the country's welfare system is based on an implicit assumption that people acquire their own homes at some stage in their life. It is assumed that people live in their own homes, on their pensions, are supported by their own family members, and use public health care services as required. Similarly in the UK an integrative approach between housing and health and social care has received urgent attention in recent years since the launch of the NHS five-year Forward View and the Care Act 2014. These have promoted closer integration between housing and services that support health and wellbeing. Nevertheless, as noted earlier, market downturn and /or stagnation in both countries can potentially undermine the asset based welfare model. We are therefore faced with a contradictory situation and policy demands in terms of enhanced affordability relying to some level on reduced house prices and asset based welfare requiring rising markets. As a result we are proposing to establish a network between Brookes and Japanese researchers in the field to enable knowledge exchange and co-learning within the team and the wide stakeholders from the public, private and community domains in the two countries. The network will facilitate one week workshops in each country that will comprise field visits to housing organisations, affordable housing projects, care service providers, new built care homes and retirement villages. It will also facilitate detailed brainstorming discussion sessions between the team members and also discussion forums with a wide range of stakeholders invited: such as key academics, local and central government policy makers, housing associations, housing and care professionals, housing developers, etc. In addition the network will enable a 2 week staff exchanges for each country. A UK staff member will spend one week each in Tokyo and Osaka universities in between the planned two workshops. An early career researcher from the University of Tokyo will visit Oxford Brookes University for 2 weeks.Finally, we will develop a dual language 'UK-Japan Sustainable Housing Network' website for this network project and a linked web-based discussion forum. These facilities will enable further dissemination of ideas and outputs and facilitate continued discussion, communication and networking for at least three years.