Kadokawa Care Prevention Center was established by Toyama City using donations from citizens and the city budget. One citizen donated hundreds of millions of JPY, or around millions of USD, to the city for the improvement of social welfare services for elderly citizens, and the city decided to build a special center for preventive care on the site of a demolished elementary school. The city also received valuable and useful assets (i.e., hot spring facilities and special apparatus for exercise) donated by several citizens before it began operating. While the property is owned by the city, the facility is operated and managed by a joint venture of private companies.
The city’s unique financial arrangement for the project by utilizing unused sites for projects, granting a concession to private operators, and asking for a variety of contributions from citizens and/or private companies.
As public spending on social welfare programs continues to grow in the recent aging trend, it is hard to expect further public resource allocations to long-term care projects for the elderly. Under severe budget constraints, local governments must make great efforts to raise capital funds from diverse resources. The government might be able to utilize unused sites for projects, grant a concession to private operators, and ask for a variety of contributions from citizens and/or private companies (e.g., cash donation, land parcels, related apparatus, etc.).