The idea of social justice relies on various notions and conceptions of justice. To be vague about exactly which conception of justice is being relied upon is to equivocate on the nature of the justice we seek to achieve. What manner of social justice should be advocated by social work? What justice do we seek to achieve through social work? The challenge is to prepare an outline for such discussions based on a consideration of the theory of social justice in a broad sense. This paper begins by examining the broad range of meanings attributed to social justice. It goes beyond the discussion of distributive justice to examine various notions and conceptions of social justice in social work that might be suitable to the needs of contemporary social work, namely elimination of suppression and domination and overcoming of exploitation and social injustice. The paper attempts to trace the theoretical evolution of social work by seeking to understand how it has been challenged by new social theoretical trends including post modernity, the ethics of care, and anti-oppressive measures.

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By analyzing the development of rescue operation for the Yajie-Settlement Nursery Center in Minami Ward, Nagoya City, after the area was struck by the Isewan-Typhoon in 1959, this study clarifies the roles and the elements of the rescue activities of students, childminders, parents, and supporters regarding restoration and recovery and assesses these activities. The roles and activities were different for each group in this study. For students, this study found out the development and humanity. For the childminders, this study found out the use of expertise and professionalism. For the parents, this study found out the autonomy. For other supporters, this study found out the characteristics of cooperation and solidarity that were provided. Parents hoped that their requests for childcare would help them cope with the problems caused by the disaster. Effective childcare activities benefited the children and helped in organizing community areas to work for recovery. The activities began rescuing the children who were affected by the aftermath of the disaster and poverty ; these activities revealed that a characteristic of the Yajie-Settlement Nursery Center was its offering of a development perspective. Positive activities provided multi-directional influence and a starting point for better childcare development.

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This study focuses on the social support network for people living in poverty. They suffer from not only economic poverty but multiple social exclusions and lack of human relations, thus intervention of the social support network with inter-professional members is necessary. This study describes the grim situations of single mothers suffering from mental illnesses. Through a case study, it was found that these mothers were surviving on meager resources with uncertain futures and many did not receive any public assistance even though they were unemployed. Results demonstrate that there are two types of segregations through the support process for people living in poverty. One is the segregation by time and the other is by professional fields. To avoid such segregations, a coordinate function should be authorized to community social workers.

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As the social problem of child abuse escalates, various legal revisions have been made to address it. Studies concerning social welfare should now also consider how legal systems can ensure the best interests of the child. As a result of such consideration, with respect to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 9.1, legislation for parent-child separation is shown to be insufficient especially due to the inadequacies of the judicial review system. Therefore, discussion is required on the effectiveness of deterrence against the powers of the Child Guidance Office including matters of strict procedure and the criteria concerning parent-child separation.

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Quality of life (QOL) for adults with intellectual disabilities from institutions and group or care homes in Japan was evaluated to investigate the differences of QOL 1) between institutions and group or care homes ; and 2) among adults with various disability levels in the group or care homes. Individuals living in group or care homes were found to exercise more self-determination than persons from institutions. This meant that the choices about daily living and the opportunities for going out improved ; but at the same time the opportunities for participating in the decision-making process important for their lives were less available. The average scores of inter-personal relations, self-determination and social inclusion were at low levels in the group or care homes as well as in the institutions. But the average scores of material well-being, physical wellbeing and rights were at high levels in both types of residential settings. It must be taken into consideration that needs change with moving to more independent settings and sufficient privacy was not guaranteed. Secondly, in the group or care homes the QOL got worse for people with more severe disabilities.

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This study aimed to empirically clarify the special characteristics of persons with "higher brain dysfunction". The research methods involved developing a story from data collected through narrative interviews and extracting the experiences and events that were related to the higher cognitive functional impairments. Then, the significance of these events and experiences was studied. The problem-solving abilities of the persons with cognitive impairment were examined by investigating their relationship with acceptance of their impairment. The results of this were then visualized; these visualizations indicated that cognitively impaired persons often had conflicting messages, such as unresolved emotions and unavoidable actions. In addition, it was confirmed that persons with higher brain dysfunction were prepared to live their lives "in the present moment" without a specific denial or acceptance of their impairment. This has important implications for considering social work methods used for persons with higher brain dysfunction. It is believed that this investigation will provide new perspectives for assisting persons with impairments who have thus far perceived their acceptance of impairments as self-evident.

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This study aims to obtain the basic information required to promote community development that will assist the elderly to continue living at home. It also aims to clarify the relationship between the status and the satisfaction level for the local quality-of-life for the elderly. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among 410 persons who participated in a salon for the elderly. The survey questions enquired about the participants' characteristics of sex, age, duration of residence, family structure category of condition of need for long-term care, and IADL; the local quality-of-life status; and their satisfaction level with the local quality-of-life. The data of 292 elderly survey participants were used and the causal model was examined, which uses structural equation modeling, to show the influence of the local quality-of-life status on the satisfaction level with the local quality-of-life. The results were as follows: 1) the causal model performed well, giving the CFI = 0.917 and the RMSEA = 0.045; and 2) the "existence of facilities in the community," "aesthetics," and "crime safety" were significantly positively associated with the satisfaction of local quality-of-life. These results emphasize the need to consider the satisfaction level with the local quality-of-life when promoting community development.

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This study examined how the proportion of the socially isolated elderly changed in Japan, and what factors explained the change. Data came from nationwide random-sampling surveys conducted in 1987 and 2012 with persons aged 60 and over (n = 2,199 and 1,324, respectively), and in 1999 with persons aged 70 and over (n = 1,405). "Isolation from non-coresidents" was defined as having contact less than once a week with anyone outside the household such as children living apart, friends, or neighbors, while "complete isolation" was defined as living alone and satisfying the conditions of isolation from non-coresidents. The comparison between 1987 and 2012 for persons aged 60 and over and across three time points for persons 70 and over revealed that the proportion of "isolation from non-coresidents" increased among men but decreased among women for both age groups. Among men, "complete isolation" increased significantly from approximately 2% (1987) to 5% (2012), while for women, it increased but was not statistically significant. Results of logistic regression analyses for the data in the same period suggested that the increase in isolation of men from non-coresidents was mostly accounted for by the decreased number of intimate neighbors, whereas higher levels of education explained the decrease of the isolation for women.

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In this study, we discussed the role of community social workers (CSWs) in supporting people who tend to be socially isolated and a strategy of supports to prevent isolation. We conducted a preliminary research study, a primary research study (using a quantitative method) and a secondary research study (using a qualitative research approach) on conditions and supports of CSWs. The primary research study focused on the target for supports by CSW and the issue of isolation, and it showed that "the elderly-centered household" was most targeted for actual supports. Many responses pointed out a problem on the individual's side in half the "yes and no" answers. However, it appeared that by improving support skills and building up experience of CSWs, the level of "difficult cases" would be lowered. The secondary research study was conducted in Toshima Ward and Hanno City where researchers were familiar with the circumstances of CSWs. As for the analysis results, we found that different characteristics became apparent for urban areas and mountain areas, and placement and non-placement of CSWs. However, since there is a limit to making generalization, a future challenge will be to carry out a focus group interview (FGI) comparison in various regions.

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The greatest challenge to adult guardianship is supported decision-making in cases where the protection of an individual conflicts with respect for personal choice. Drawing on an analysis of the Mental Capacity Act of 2005 Code of Practice and Checklist as well as an examination of practices by guardians, this paper formulates guidelines grounded in a social work perspective that seek the best interests of individuals while respecting personal choice. As a result, guidelines consisting of ten items are created including Trial possibilities; Eclectic options; Distinguishing between the intentions of the individual and those around the individual, such as family including close relatives and friends; Risks to the individual, life-endangering hazards, and the validity of conventional wisdom; Appeals to the individual; Raising individual awareness; and Confirming the potential risks to both guardians and individuals in the final decision and establishing measures. Support consistent with these guidelines will serve to manage risks in terms of a common policy for supported decision-making. In addition, these guidelines are suggested as a first step towards practices of empowerment that use social welfare expertise to overcome conflicts between the protection of individuals and respect for personal choice.

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Although adequacy of social response to new and increasingly complex life challenges is debatable, certified social workers are offering comprehensive community-based support for people excluded from society. Social action that comprises a coordinated effort to achieve structural change including reform and development of both legal and social services would be needed to resolve an undeveloped legal system; however, data from both research and practical experience on social action are scarce in Japan. This study demonstrates social action practices in a systematic manner by analyzing 42 successful cases from the practices of certified social workers in Japan. The results suggest that recent social actions by social workers are characterized by low levels of client participation and a narrow focus. A process that is common to all these cases involves examining social problems, understanding them objectively, encouraging concerned people to aim toward structural change while facilitating their understanding of the problems, and organizing the concerned people. To practice social action, social workers need to have both a broad network of professionals and community resource persons, and sufficient practical experience.

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The purpose of this research was to verify the effect of the group life review implemented for senior citizens who were in a group home and 8 residents and 9 nursing care staff members participated in the evaluation. The results showed that after nine sessions, the scores of the resident observation record increased in all items from the first session, and N-ADL and NM Scale showed increases in many of the items after the review implementation. Furthermore, as residents repeated the sessions, their interaction with other residents changed to natural interactions with lively expressions. For nursing care staff members, evaluation scale values increased in many of the items after implementing the group life review which meant that staff members recognized many items as "accomplished" by holding the life review. Furthermore, the evaluation showed that staff members could put smiles on residents' faces and be thanked by their family members and that led to the sense of satisfaction and successful experience for the nursing care staff.

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A questionnaire survey was conducted with nursing staff at an elderly care facility in Prefecture A to develop strategies for preventing abuse and measures for handling abuse within the facility. Here, incidences where nursing staff came close to but ultimately avoided engaging in abusive acts or inappropriate care of patients were examined. Results from the free response data of the questionnaire showed that the practical avoidance behaviors of individual staff members included creative care practices, knowledge of giving care, and self-restraint. In addition, staff made use of specific behaviors that were either past- or future-oriented, such as avoiding abuse through self-reflection and imagining acts of avoiding abuse. Moreover, abuse was avoided through concern for the surrounding environment, such as through considering effects of facility practices, the human environment, and collaboration within the same profession. These findings indicated that individual avoidance behaviors and environmental factors mutually interact so that acts by the staff do not reach the point where abusive behavior takes place.

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