The Vanguard of Community-based Integrated Care in Japan: The Effect of a Rural Town on National Policy.

Introduction: Japan has the largest percentage of elderly people in the world. In 2012 the government implemented a community-based integrated care system which provides seamless community healthcare resources for elderly people with chronic diseases and disabilities.

Methods: This paper describes the challenges of establishing a community-based integrated care system in 1974 in Mitsugi, a rural town of Japan.