Summary
By 2040, Japan’s elderly population is projected to reach approximately 40 million, accompanied by a dramatic decline in the working-age population. While this poses a serious threat to the nation’s fundamental systems, including social security, it can also be seen as an opportunity for Japan—one of the first countries in the world to face a super-aging society—to overcome these challenges and establish new global standards for future lifestyles.
This project addresses various social challenges anticipated in 2040 through collaboration between researchers within and outside Keio University as well as industry partners.
Major issues in the coming super-aging society include the sustainability of social security systems and the need to respond to the decline in the labor force. The 2040 Independent Self-Reliance Project (2021–2023) revealed that promoting and sustaining behavioral changes aimed at extending healthy life expectancy is crucial. Accordingly, the project has been advancing the development of digital platforms that encourage behavioral change for longer healthy lifespans, as well as the creation of an ecosystem—a large-scale revenue structure in which industries, products, and services collaborate and interact.
In the field of digital healthcare, the development of advanced sensing technologies is indispensable. The project is therefore focusing on the development of new sensing technologies that can replace conventional metal-based devices, which often impose physical burdens on users. One of the major achievements to date is the development of transparent skin-like devices that integrate seamlessly with the human body and are barely noticeable when worn. These devices utilize “soft matter,” a class of flexible and highly biocompatible materials, and have attracted global attention as a new technological innovation.
Furthermore, this project aims not only to develop technologies at the laboratory level but also to design devices with practical implementation in mind, incorporating them into real-world demonstration experiments involving everyday users. Ultimately, these devices will be integrated into the aforementioned digital platforms and ecosystems.
In addition to digital healthcare technologies, improvements in living environments are also critical. Therefore, the project includes research and development aimed at controlling and optimizing environments such as offices, residential spaces, and urban areas. Through these efforts, the project seeks to extend healthy life expectancy and mitigate the impacts of a shrinking labor force.
Another key strategy for addressing labor shortages is the utilization of humanoid robots and caregiving robots equipped with artificial intelligence. In this field as well, there is strong potential for new approaches that go beyond conventional semiconductor- and metal-based technologies. The development of robots based on soft matter and capable of flexible, life-like movement is expected to play an important role.
This project ultimately aims to contribute to solving the social challenges of 2040 by constructing new living environments and social systems that incorporate these emerging technologies. A distinctive feature of the project is the integration and implementation of technological development within the design of social systems.
At the same time, it is essential to examine whether such technologies and systems will be accepted by society. To address this, the project organizes citizen forums and exhibitions that allow members of the public to participate in discussions, enabling research and development to be shaped collaboratively with society and aligned with genuine social needs.
In addition, the project incorporates the “Water Visualization Project Connecting Food and Health.” This initiative enables the collection, analysis, and visualization of data and information related to diet and health, thereby supporting personal health management and improvements in dietary habits. The effective utilization of data related to food and health will be a crucial element in extending healthy life expectancy in a super-aging society.
Moreover, the Water Visualization Project contributes to the efficient use of water resources and improved water quality management. By integrating these efforts, the project promotes a comprehensive approach linking food and health, and is expected to generate further outcomes as part of the broader effort to address the societal challenges of 2040.
Project Website:
About the Book Project
We have published the research result series "The Monstrous Platform Power and the Law" Volumes I–IV (Keio University Press).
＜Japanese Version＞
＜English Version＞ *Download version only
The old page for the 2040 Aging Society Innovation Center can be found here
Project Members
Principal Investigator
Kenji Yasuoka
ProfessorFaculty of Science and TechnologyMolecular dynamics