JAPAN: At least 370 nursing care homes for elderly people not registered

. TOKYO (The Japan Times - Kyodo), September 6, 2008: At least 370 nursing homes and welfare service facilities for elderly people in 15 out of 22 arbitrarily selected prefectures have failed to register with local authorities in violation of the Elderly Welfare Law, a government survey showed Thursday. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry is concerned that their failure to register will make it impossible for the government to carry out on-site inspections and may lead to possible abuse of residents and the spread of inadequate information about the facilities. The findings also raise concern that the government's role of overseeing the nursing home industry has been undermined. In the survey, 22 prefectures were arbitrarily selected and examined. The prefectures were aware of 353 of the 370 facilities but neglected to instruct them to file registrations, while the remaining 17 facilities were not recognized by the authorities. The ministry planned to ask the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry Friday to urge prefectural governments to fully ascertain the present situation surrounding their local nursing homes and to provide them with thorough instructions. (C)The Japan Times