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How Do Japanese Elderly People Access Legal Services? An Analysis of Advice-Seeking Behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2018

Aya YAMAGUCHI
Aya YAMAGUCHI*
Affiliation:
University of Tokyo
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Abstract

In Japan, an increasing number of elderly people are facing legal issues. However, whether they have enough access to legal services remains unclear. Therefore, this study used a mixed-methods approach—web and interview surveys—to identify elderly people’s experience with legal problems, factors that affect their decisions to consult lawyers about their problems, and factors that relate to their knowledge about the availability of legal consultation. Results showed that legal problems were related to issues with family or relatives. Second, elderly people did not consult lawyers if they could solve problems on their own, felt helpless, or lacked a connection with legal professionals. Third, respondents who had knowledge about the availability of legal consultation were male or working elderly. The overall results suggest that elderly people are not homogeneous, and more support is needed for those who feel helpless or lack knowledge about legal consultation.

Keywords

elderly peoplelegal accesslegal servicesJapanmixed-methods approach
Type
Research Article
Information
Asian Journal of Law and Society , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , November 2019 , pp. 281 - 305
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2018

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Footnotes

*

Post-doctoral research fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and currently carrying out research at the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo. The author’s main area of research is sociology of law and elder law, especially legal support for elderly people. This article is based on a part of the author’s doctoral dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo, in 2017. Correspondence to Aya Yamaguchi, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. E-mail address: ayamaguchi130@gmail.com.

•

This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellow DC2 (13J09117): JFY2013-2014 and PD (15J08785): JFY2015-2018.

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