Across the globe, populations are getting older. Britain and Japan are examples of two rapidly ageing societies, and their governments face increasing challenges in how to deal with this situation. Unfortunately, residential care still carries the stigma of the British workhouse or the Japanese obasuteyama (granny-dump mountain) and is often viewed as a last resort. Based on extensive archival research and oral testimony, Hayashi sets policy and practice at the national, regional and local levels in their historical contexts, offering a unique comparison of the evolution of modern residential care in England and Japan.