End-of-life care refers to a type of health care provided to patients who are in the final stages of their lives, and is also provided to patients who are suffering from 'a terminal illness that can no longer be cured. In Japan, end-of-life care is a government program due to the high rate of elderly people. According to statistics from the University of Denver, 25.2% of Japan's population is made up of elderly people. This means that the birth rate is low in the country. There are therefore standards regarding end-of-life care in Japan. First, when a Japanese person is suffering from a terminal illness or is about to die, the term shikata ga nai is used. The expression means that a person can no longer be helped to treat their illness or another illness. Terminally ill patients are not helped to recover because there is little or no chance of surviving, and the family will simply have to wait until the patient dies because there is nothing they can do to prolong their life. Additionally, prolonging the life of a nearly dead patient using machines such as a life support machine would not help the patient because it would prolong their suffering from their illness. Another standard in end-of-life care in Japan is how Japanese people view the concept of death. In Japanese culture, death is considered unclean due to their religion, Shintoism. Shintoism is a belief that emphasizes cleanliness and purity. Since death is inevitable, this contradicts their belief that Shinto is about purity. On the contrary, the Japanese also view death as a natural phenomenon; therefore we could not stop or prolong a person's life. There is a saying that Japanese are born Shinto but die Buddhist. Death in Buddhism means that one has achieved enlightenment...... middle of paper...... and that one does to meet the needs of a dying patient. This relates to research because end-of-life care focuses on how nurses and other medical staff care for their patients at the end of life. This shows how important the role of nurses and carers is in ensuring that their patients are in a dignified situation before they die. The last quote focuses on how the relationship between patient and caregiver is formed. “You are a very good caregiver. You would also be the perfect person for me if you weren't you. (Ishiguro, 282) Since end-of-life care involves caring for terminally ill patients, it is necessary to build a relationship between the patient and the caregiver. If a relationship is built, the patient will feel safe with the caregiver. And as for the caregiver, he gained the trust of his patient, thus facilitating the end-of-life care process..