Paul Midford is Professor and Director of the Japan Program at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.

"A fascinating read for anyone interested in how seemingly very different societies (Japan and Norway) organize their services for older people. From this a good deal can be learnt." - Gerdt Sundstrom, Professor Emeritus in Gerontology, Jonkoping University, Sweden, and consultant with The Swedish Federation of Retired Persons

• Introduction 1. Japan's Long-Term-Care Insurance System 2. Eldercare in Norway Content, Organization and Financing the Care System - a Brief History, Current Status and Future Prospects 3. Care Providers in Japan Before and After the Long-Term Care Insurance 4. Formal Providers of Eldercare in Norway 5. Changes in Family and Informal Care in Japan 6. Changes in Family and Informal Care in Norway 7. Assessment Instrument and Allocation of Services in Japan 8. Assessment Instrument and the Allocation of Care Services in Norway 9. Quality of Care Services in the Japanese System of Long-Term Care 10. Quality of Care Services in Norway