Japan Spends Over ¥11 Trillion on Nursing Care in Fiscal 2022

According to the statistics on long-term care benefit expenditures for fiscal 2022 released by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, the cost of nursing care services for those certified as requiring care increased by ¥158.6 billion year-on-year, to ¥10.9 trillion, while preventative care received mainly by individuals certified for less serious conditions rose by ¥3.4 billion, to ¥283.1 billion—for a total expenditure (including nursing care insurance benefits and out-of-pocket expenses) of approximately ¥11.2 trillion and a year-on-year increase of ¥162.1 billion.

The average cost per care recipient (as of April 2021) was ¥203,100 for nursing care and ¥27,900 for preventative care, an increase of ¥3,500 and ¥100, respectively, compared to the same month the previous year.

The ministry’s survey has been conducted since fiscal 2001, which was the year after the introduction of a nursing care insurance system. Between then and 2022, the total annual expenditures on nursing care swelled 2.6-fold.

By prefecture, the highest average expenditure was ¥223,700 in Tottori, followed by ¥216,100 in Okinawa and ¥216,100 in Ishikawa. In fiscal 2022, the total number of certified recipients of nursing care rose increased year on year by 123,000 or 2.2%, to 5,591,600, while the total number of recipients of preventive care increased by 40,400 or 3.5%, to 1,184,700.

The number of certified recipients of nursing care or support as of April 2023 was 7.2 million, an increase of 60,000 over the same month the previous year. The number actually receiving nursing care services totaled 5.5 million for the same month, a year-on-year increase of 100,000. Women far outnumber men at 3.8 million as compared to 1.7 million.

The type of services with the largest number of users were in-home care support (3.9 million), welfare equipment rental (2.8 million), outpatient day care (1.6 million), and home visits (1.6 million).

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)