Tokyo’s elderly population is ballooning, waitlists for nursing homes run a mile long, and there’s a fierce scramble for free beds. So, why are these businesses catering to the city’s aging denizens scaling back?
In the city’s northern Adachi ward, as many as 4,000 elderly residents are waitlisted for nursing homes. Adachi Manyoen, a facility that opened there with 100 beds last year, keeps 30 percent empty. The problem: A worsening shortage of workers and impending cuts in government reimbursements.
