Abstract
The provision system of social services in Japan has been moving toward reorganization since the mid-1990s. This article takes particular note of the provision system of elderly care services, which are called "Long-term Care Insurance". First, I analyze the characteristics of changes in these services and their challenges from the perspective of Quasi-market theory. Second, using marketized care services not only requires an intimate contract between provider and purchaser but coterminously has the earmarks of publicity. Therefore, I point out the characteristics of publicity through discussion of the Democratic Party of Japan's term in office. As a result, we can recognize that the provision system of elderly care services has problems such as low prices for services, questioning of the legitimization of the burden between cost and benefit, and debate over the extension of the right to choice in using services. In conclusion, the idea of "New Public Commons" of the Democratic Party is very compatible with neo-liberalism ideology, which emphasizes self-help and mutual assistance. To counter such ideas, we should pursue the concept of "social welfare as social science" advocated by Kyuichi Yoshida.
