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

在包括日本和英国在内的许多发达经济体，房价的快速上涨以及随之而来的城市地区可负担性的下降，已成为共同的挑战。因此，大量学术文献和政策报告探讨了造成这些挑战的因素及其对社会和国民经济的影响。对于首次购房者和希望在购房阶梯上迈出第一步的年轻家庭来说，负担能力尤其成问题。然而，这两个国家都面临着动荡的房地产市场。在英国，尽管自2008年崩盘后复苏以来，可负担性一直是一个主要问题，但英国退欧事件现在有可能导致房价更不稳定，甚至可能下跌。另一方面，在日本，尽管东京房地产市场的特点是房价快速上涨，但其他城市的情况仍然停滞不前。这种不稳定可能会对两国为老龄人口提供的社会护理产生重大负面影响。住房在社会照顾和福利政策中的综合作用已成为两国学术界和实践中日益普遍的问题，强调以资产为基础的福利。在日本，该国的福利制度基于一种隐含的假设，即人们在人生的某个阶段拥有自己的住房。假设人们住在自己的家里，靠自己的养老金生活，由自己的家庭成员支持，并根据需要使用公共卫生保健服务。同样，在英国，自《国民健康保险制度五年展望》和《2014年护理法案》推出以来，住房与卫生和社会护理之间的综合办法近年来受到了紧急关注。这些措施促进了住房与支持健康和福祉的服务之间的更紧密结合。然而，如前所述，两国的市场低迷和/或停滞可能会破坏以资产为基础的福利模式。因此，我们面临着一种矛盾的局面和政策要求，即在一定程度上依赖于降低的房价和需要上升的市场的基于资产的福利，以提高可负担性。因此，我们建议在布鲁克斯和该领域的日本研究人员之间建立一个网络，以便在团队和来自两国公共、私人和社区领域的广泛利益攸关方之间进行知识交流和共同学习。该网络将在每个国家举办为期一周的讲习班，包括实地考察住房组织、经济适用房项目、护理服务提供者、新建养老院和退休村庄。它还将促进团队成员之间的详细集思广益讨论会议，以及邀请广泛利益相关者参加的论坛：如主要学者、地方和中央政府政策制定者、住房协会、住房和护理专业人员、住房开发商等。此外，该网络将为每个国家提供为期两周的工作人员交流。在计划的两次研讨会之间，一名英国工作人员将在东京和大阪的大学各呆一周。来自东京大学的一位早期职业研究人员将访问牛津布鲁克斯大学两周。最后，我们将为这个网络项目开发一个双语的“英日可持续住房网络”网站和一个链接的基于网络的论坛。这些设施将有助于进一步传播想法和产出，并促进至少三年的持续讨论、交流和联网。

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.