Hiroshi Yoshimura
Mr. Yoshimura was born in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He holds an M.Sc. from the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University. After joining Sony Corporation in 1970, he was involved in the development of videotapes at the company's Sendai plant and then in the development of recordable optical disks and magneto-optical disks in 1983. He also dealt with the commercialization of the MiniDisc in 1992. In 2002, he became the representative of Sony's Sendai Technology Center. Mr. Yoshimura has been Project Manager of the Finnish Wellbeing center Project since 2003.
As with other industrialized countries, both Japan and Finland are looking at the likely, and serious, fate of an aging society. The elderly population in Japan in particular has skyrocketed, and since it is expected to account for a quarter of the country's population by 2015, it is believed that Japanese society is facing a structural change that will, in all probability, take place at an unprecedented pace. Finland, on the other hand, has already experienced a similar problem and established a first-rate welfare system with the know-how it had accumulated since the 1950s. For example, in Finland, national and employee pensions are provided to people aged 65 and older. Also, housing and nursing allowances are granted as part of the basic welfare services provided by the government. Although the costs of other additional services are paid by individuals in principle, society pays these costs for those who cannot afford to pay them.
Our research and development organization finally launched operations at the end of March 2005. It is situated next to Sendan-no-Yakata, a special elderly nursing home that opened in December 2004 in Mizunomori, Aoba-ku, Sendai. It was Finland-a country well-experienced in establishing a successful welfare society-that Sendai chose as a gateway to Europe and a partner in various projects, including welfare-related research. Mr. Hiroshi Yoshimura is currently in charge of the overall promotion of projects and R & D activities that address the issue of an aging society; one such project is the operation of the above mentioned R & D facility, which was developed in the area.
The Finnish Wellbeing Center (FWBC) Project is an international business development project that connects businesses and academic institutions in the Sendai area with Finland. The project focuses on highly value-added appliances and services used in health and welfare, such as IT-driven assistance in providing home care and/or independence to the elderly. Mr. Yoshimura promoted this project in cooperation with Dr. Mauno Konttinen, the project manager on the Finnish side.
The universal design, aiming at providing convenience to everyone, is applied to furniture and fixtures at the R & D Facility. Finnish know-how is reflected here.
According to Mr. Yoshimura, this industry-academia-government project not only addresses welfare-related issues but also puts future economic relations in perspective: by promoting projects that enhance the QOL (This simply refers to the quality of one's life and the necessary condition for welfare) of the elderly, Cross-border exchanges are fostered and the flow of people and goods directly to/from Sendai is vitalized. The prospective effects are as follows:
1. Invigoration of local economies, because business entities in the given area would become more competitive with the introduction of new technologies and business methods.
2. Goods and services that are new to Japan would become available even to local citizens.
3. Attracting new enterprises may create jobs in the local community.
Economic exchanges with Finland, which may lead to such effects, are already taking place.
Dr. Konttinen, the Finnish project manager, is a key player in connecting businesses between Finland and Japan, not to mention Sendai. If we try to open up new channels between Finland and the Kansai or Kyusyu area, we will have to deal with various local issues from scratch, including the dialect and business practice of each area. It would definitely be easier to make use of the established channel between Sendai and Finland, and Dr. Konttinen asserts that we can find ample business opportunities in Sendai City, the gateway to northern Europe.
The direction that the R & D facility, which was launched in spring this year, is heading can be conceptualized as follows:
1. Supporting the independence of the elderly
2. Providing preventive care aimed at retaining and improving physical ability through rehabilitation
3. Respecting the privacy of individuals
4. Keeping the elderly social
5. Enhancing the quality and efficiency of care by utilizing IT
Finland has assisted its elderly so that they can live independently for as long as possible by, for example, developing assistive technologies or living environments that enable the elderly to utilize as much of their remaining physical abilities(note1) as possible. We are trying to incorporate such concepts into Sendai and hope that they will spread to the areas surrounding our center. Our ultimate objective, then, is disseminating such an advanced approach throughout Sendai city and eventually throughout Japan. Although all our efforts are, of course, aimed at improving the QOL of the elderly, they are also expected to reduce social cost by enabling senior citizens to lead independent lives.
Coordination between Dr. Konttinen, project manager on the Finnish side, and Mr. Yoshimura opens the gateway to the world.
(note1) Remaining physical abilities
This refers to the current physical abilities of the elderly. Nursing homes have long been considered as places that protect the socially vulnerable. The FWBC Project, on the other hand, offers nursing services that focus on means of enabling the elderly to lead independent lives while retaining their current physical abilities as long as possible.
This project is expected to entail various economic effects, but it also entails the challenge of advancing the interfaces between Japanese and Finnish industry, academia and government needed to develop a universal design (note2). For this purpose, our R & D Center has established as many as eight incubation rooms. Plans for some of the projects in these rooms were successfully finalized within a few months.
In other words, if the needs and wants of the elderly are correctly understood, the product planning stage can be completed rather quickly (although the commercialization stage would still be far away). The focus of the development of IT has been involved in more detailed attempts, such as those related to a system in which necessary information can be obtained compatibly with any device. The reason for existence of our project lies in supporting such approach by learning from the wisdom that can be found throughout the world. We welcome any enterprise that agrees with our concepts and is willing to collaborate with us. We will coordinate collaborative efforts between Japan and other countries and support communication between business entities. Finally, it should be emphasized that Sendai already has an established infrastructure in which various assistance is available to those who seek ties with Finland and collaboration between business and academia.
(note2) universal design
The design of products, information, or environments that considers the usefulness of all citizens regardless of ability. In this sense, it is not confined to the view of convenience or ease of use for the disabled. It was advocated by Ronald L. Mace, Program Director of the Center for Universal Design, North Caroline State University.
Covered, Nov 2004