Japanese

Japan is one of the countries at the forefront of the global trend of population aging. This trend is projected to accelerate in the coming 20 years, with some Asian countries expected to experience aging even faster than Japan.

How should we design the coming super-aged society? This question should be addressed globally.

Accordingly, Fukuoka City launched the “Fukuoka 100” project in 2017 to better meet the demands of the era of the 100-year lifespan, with the aim of creating a society where individuals can enjoy their lives in good physical and mental health, and has been promoting this project as the “All Fukuoka” endeavor involving businesses, academia and both the public and private sectors. As part of this project, we are taking various measures to realize our “Dementia Friendly City” vision to enable individuals to continue to live comfortably in their familiar, home communities even after developing dementia.

At the center of this endeavor is Humanitude®, a communication and care technique for individuals with dementia. Taking pride in being the first municipality in the world to officially introduce Humanitude, Fukuoka City offers Humanitude workshops for family carers and citizens at elementary and junior high schools and community halls throughout the city to make this technique widely known and practiced. We also partner with relevant organizations in France where Humanitude originated to promote this technique internationally.

As part of our efforts to spread Humanitude, we will host the Humanitude Sans Frontières International Conference in Fukuoka 2026. The Conference will bring together a diverse range of actors, such as municipal governments, research institutions, universities, and medical and welfare professionals, from Japan, Asia and beyond to facilitate discussions on care required for the aging society and the environment in which such care is delivered.

By hosting this Conference, we hope to share the initiatives taken to ensure everyone can live happily in the era of the 100-year lifespan, as well as the insights gained through the experience, from Fukuoka to Asia.

We hope you will join us at the forthcoming Conference and look forward to welcoming you to Fukuoka.