Sachio Takeda: Hokuriku, a Land Full of Charm

2024/02/09

The Hokuriku SDGs Research Centers and Institutes, where I serve as Representative Director, was established in 2020. I founded it based on the belief that Japan faces many social issues that must be resolved, drawing from regional revitalization activities conducted with local governments during my time as Director of the Regional Collaboration Center at Hokuriku University, as well as joint research with researchers from United Nations University. Currently, we are already collaborating with more than 20 major companies on SDGs activities.

While UNESCO has set SDG goals for 2030, we conduct our activities with a 100-year perspective, considering what is essential for Japan to be a "nation respected by the world." Our activities are concentrated into six areas: "Creating a healthy, bright, safe, and secure society," "Protection of Japan's nature, history, and culture," "Improving education for everyone from children to adults," "Well-being management and economic development," "Food self-sufficiency," and "Development of nature-friendly energy."

As the number of elderly people living alone is increasing, we have further subdivided "Creating a healthy, bright, safe, and secure society" into four specific areas: health promotion for the elderly, construction of elderly-friendly transportation systems, promotion of intergenerational regional communication, and a society focused on disaster prevention and mitigation.

Regarding "health promotion for the elderly," we are not just looking at medical care itself, but also at solving transportation issues necessary for daily life. Particularly in areas with advancing depopulation, the transportation environment is poor, making it difficult even to visit a hospital. Unless this is resolved, medical issues cannot be truly addressed. While the problems of an aging society are a nationwide challenge, I personally visited Wajima City to investigate the state of medical care and transportation in areas where depopulation is progressing.

Bus stops were located on main roads far from residential clusters, with some houses as far as 500 meters away. A distance that poses no problem for a healthy person is grueling for an elderly person walking with a cane, and it is an extremely inconvenient environment for walking in rain or snow while carrying luggage. Considering physical strength, I felt that a transportation system suitable for the elderly should not be an extension of conventional buses, but rather a completely new system.

Transportation is a means to achieve goals such as commuting to work or school and shopping, but "transportation" in an aging society has a different aspect. As the population ages, medical and nursing care costs strain finances; therefore, the purpose of "transportation" is to promote health by creating opportunities to go out, thereby suppressing medical and nursing care expenses. Additionally, transportation serves purposes such as tourism and disaster prevention. From an administrative standpoint, a major challenge is that coordination is difficult due to vertical silos, where transportation is handled by the Transportation Policy Division and health by the Health and Welfare Division.

The year before last, I worked with Kanazawa City to design a transportation system convenient for the elderly in districts where JR West Bus had abolished or reduced services. At the same time, we considered integrating this with health promotion, such as the prevention of dementia and frailty, by encouraging people to go out using the transportation system.

According to research by one university, the number of dementia patients is expected to reach 7 million in 2025, and it is estimated that the incidence of dementia will reach 40% among those aged 85 and older. I believe we are heading toward a society where the elderly caring for the elderly will become the norm.

It is said that personality changes can occur in dementia patients, and it is difficult for an elderly spouse to provide care with affection. As a result, there is a possibility that both will collapse together. To avoid this, it has been proposed that it is better to create an environment for collective care within the community. However, the most important thing is the prevention of dementia. Preventing dementia is not easy. I believe it is crucial to increase opportunities for social interaction and outings for the elderly, and that a transportation system that makes going out easy will play a major role.

At the Hokuriku SDGs Research Centers and Institutes, we are working to promote the construction of this "Health Promotion x Transportation System" from the Hokuriku region to the rest of the country through industry-academia-government-citizen collaboration.

On the other hand, to create a "nation respected by the world," it is also important to share information with the world about the beautiful Satoyama and Satoumi nature and the rich history and culture of the Hokuriku region. To this end, we believe collaboration with United Nations University, the Nature Conservation Society of Japan, and local community development councils is vital, and we are active in discovering the charms of Hokuriku.

Furthermore, empowering young people to demonstrate their potential is also essential to creating a "nation respected by the world."

Unfortunately, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake occurred on New Year's Day 2024. Since reconstruction will take a long time, I believe continuous support is necessary. I intend to call upon sports enthusiasts around the world to hold the urban sports competition that we have been hosting at Kanazawa Castle since 2018 again this year, collecting donations to realize the reconstruction of the Noto Peninsula. I am currently planning at least five years of continuous support. I would be very grateful for everyone's help in passing on Noto's beautiful Satoyama, Satoumi, and traditional culture to future generations.

In terms of the development of the Japanese economy, the practice of Well-being management is important. I am implementing this through industry-academia collaboration, utilizing the experience I gained during my time at Pfizer.

I believe that the government, universities, companies, and local residents should work together as one to solve the problems of Japanese society. Moving forward, I want to continue striving to create a "nation respected by the world" by sharing information from Hokuriku to the globe.

(The author conducting support activities in the disaster area after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on January 1)