特集にあたって

This special feature is based on the symposium ,"Feelings of "Meiwaku/Burden" in Modern Japan’s Super-aging Society,” which was held on Monday, September 19, 2022. This symposium was sponsored by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP20A00007. This project focuses on the fact that when people think about aging, end-of-life care, and death in modern Japan, many feel that “they do not want to be a burden to others.” The project is divided into three research groups: historic studies, studies of contemporary Japan, and field research. The symposium reported the results of the contemporary Japan research group, which is halfway through its research. The symposium consisted of two sessions, and this special feature is based on the three participants in the session titled “Feelings of"Meiwaku/Burden" : A Comparison with Other Countries.” Ryozo Suzuki’s study focuses on “the giving of gifts as being mutual actions of giving and receiving” to understand the elderly’s feelings of meiwaku and analyzes the significance and complex structures of the feeling of “being a burden to others” at the end of one’s life. Haruka Hikasa’s study considers the feelings of meiwaku in relation to the subject’s autonomy in the context of medical care provided to people with terminal or chronic illnesses. Natsumi Tanaka’s study examines the feelings of meiwaku among the elderly in France and is based on the work of Simone de Beauvoir. She determines the motivations behind the elderly’s feelings of meiwaku and categorizes them. The abovementioned studies present important research results and facilitate future comparative research on the feelings of meiwaku between Japan and other countries.

特集(Special Feature)　超高齢社会・現代日本の〈迷惑〉意識：海外との比較を通して(Feelings of“ Meiwaku/Burden” in Contemporary Japan as a Super-Aging Society: Through a Comparison with Foreign Countries)