Japan’s Guarantor and Lifetime Support Market: 412 Providers, Advance Deposits and the 2026 Reforms
Series “Inside Japan’s Lifetime Support Business,” Part 1 of 12
Guarantor services, which support older people who have no family to rely on when they are admitted to a hospital or care facility and handle the formalities after they die, are called “lifetime support services for older people and others” in the national guidelines. The number of providers has grown rapidly along with the increase in older people living alone. Yet no law or licensing system directly regulates the business, and disputes have arisen over how providers manage the money they hold and over refunds when contracts are canceled.
In this series, we examine guarantor and lifetime support services from a market and business perspective, based on Part 7, newly added to our training textbook. This first installment provides the big picture.
A business that takes on the family’s role by contract
The national Guidelines for Lifetime Support Service Providers, drawn up in June 2024, define this business as one that continuously provides guarantor and similar services, together with post-death arrangements, under a contract with the individual. Many providers also offer daily living support, such as accompanying clients to medical appointments and managing their living expenses.
Guarantor services: guarantees on admission to a hospital or facility, serving as the emergency contact, paying fees, etc.
Daily living support: accompanying clients to medical appointments, managing living expenses, etc.
Post-death arrangements: the funeral and interment of remains, clearing out belongings, administrative procedures, etc.
The provider takes on by contract the roles that family members would play if there were any. This is where both the value and the difficulty of the business lie.
Where the market stands
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) identified 412 providers in 2023. Most are general incorporated associations and NPOs, and a typical feature is the large number of small organizations with five or fewer staff. Revenue comes from a combination of one-time fees at signing, advance deposits, monthly or annual fees, and pay-per-use fees, and about 80% of providers receive prepayments (advance deposits) to cover post-death arrangements and similar costs. Long-term contracts, and the management of money held on behalf of clients: these two factors determine a provider’s credibility.
The market’s ground rules will change in 2027–2028
In June 2026, two amendment laws were enacted. Under the amendments to the Social Welfare Act and related laws, services that provide daily living support, help with hospital and facility admission procedures, and support with post-death arrangements for older people and others with no family to rely on are newly designated as a Type 2 social welfare service, to be launched by 2028. Under the amendments to the Civil Code and related laws, the “guardianship” and “curatorship” categories of the adult guardianship system will be merged into the “assistance” category.
Demand will keep growing, but people with low incomes will come to be supported by public programs. Private providers will be expected, more than ever, to offer “proof of trustworthiness,” such as compliance with the guidelines and protection of advance deposits through a trust, along with added value that public programs do not provide.
Three issues for end-of-life planning (shukatsu) businesses
Trustworthiness: who protects advance deposits, and how
Transparency: whether the provider can show its fee breakdown and its cancellation and refund rules
Positioning: how to divide roles with public programs
Guarantor services connect many end-of-life planning situations, such as hospital admission, moving into a care facility, funerals, inheritance and clearing out belongings, through a single contract. Should your company provide them itself, or support them through partnerships? From the next installment, we look in turn at the business structure, demand, costs, the competitive landscape, laws and regulations, and consumer trouble.
Source material for this column
This column is based on Part 7, “Lifetime Support and Guarantor Services,” of Next Co., Ltd.’s Senior End-of-Life Planning Business: Comprehensive Training Textbook (Annotated Edition, 2026), which is written in Japanese, and has been reorganized from a business and market analysis perspective.
To discuss using this material for business planning or in-house training, please contact us.
Related articles
Figures in this article are based on published data and our own materials as of November 2026.
This is an English translation of a column originally published in Japanese by Next Co., Ltd.
About Next Co., Ltd. We support companies in Japan’s senior care and end-of-life planning (shukatsu) market through research, business development and training. Our English textbook, Senior End-of-Life Planning Textbook, explains the market from the big picture down to day-to-day practice, including senior housing and care facility placement consulting. See the English edition | Buy on Gumroad | Contact us
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