2026 Volume 23 Pages 87-106
Living with dementia in a local community from the perspective of exclusion and inclusion is described in this study. First, Dementia Friendly Community as a policy in Japan is summarized and how it operates in local communities is ex-amined. The case of a woman with dementia who lives in Erimo Town in Hok-kaido, Japan, is then presented. She became unable to return home, settle shop debts, ride public transit, and so on. Consequently, the woman was required to move to an older adult facility in another town due to persistent troubles in dai-ly life. In this study, the process of experiencing various troubles is described in detail. These experiences include people who are concerned about her: the po-lice officer, public administrative officer, and residents and staff at the small multifunctional facility named Irori in Erimo Town. Irori has adopted the idea of mental health care from Urakawa Town, based on “person-centered care.” There are young men with social withdrawal and nonattending students living in Erimo Town. For them to become social beings, Irori collaborates with the priest, principals and teachers, and the board of education in the existing com-munity. It is crucial that the residents communicate with the older adult from an early stage and establish their needs. In conclusion, neither exclusion nor in-clusion can be divided, and in the future the residents will become able to plan how persons with dementia can live together in the local community beyond the view of the binary opposites of exclusion and inclusion.
