Stories from the Field 06Public nomination

Measures for Supporting the Aging Society through “Mutual Learning” between Thailand and Japan
—Multi-Organizational Collaboration Helps Spread Community-Led Care for the Elderly: Initiative of Yugawara Town and NOGEZAKA-GLOCAL (NGO)—

NOGEZAKA-GLOCAL staff conducting rehabilitation training in Thailand with Japanese experts connected online (Photo: NOGEZAKA-GLOCAL)

TPhoto 2. he signing ceremony for a network to promote comprehensive elderly care in Bueng Yitho. Nine local governments from Thailand including Bueng Yitho took part, along with Yugawara Town and others. (Photo: NOGEZAKA-GLOCAL)

In Thailand, the aging of the population is progressing rapidly as indicated by the proportion of elderly people, which jumped from just over 10% in 2015 to over 14% in 2022. To respond adequately to this situation, it is important to revitalize elderly care initiatives at the community and local government levels, as it is not sufficient to only respond through improving national-level systems such as pension and elderly care insurance.

Yugawara Town in Kanagawa Prefecture is a town with many “healthy elderly people”: while the town has the highest aging rate in the prefecture, the needs for long-term care are relatively low. In 2019, Yugawara Town, which is actively engaged in international exchanges, signed a “Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation” in the areas of elderly welfare and tourism with the Municipality of Bueng Yitho, Thailand. In partnership with NOGEZAKA-GLOCAL, a Japanese NGO that has supported Thailand for many years in the field of welfare for the elderly, Yugawara Town assists Bueng Yitho Municipality in its efforts to revitalize elderly care that is rooted in the characteristics and needs of each community through mutual visits and online seminars.

Specifically, the Municipality of Bueng Yitho, in cooperation with Yugawara Town, NOGEZAKA-GLOCAL, Thammasat University in Thailand, and others, strives to provide comprehensive elderly care by developing daycare centers for the elderly, as well as by coordinating with home-based nursing care and private residential nursing care facilities. Whereas Yugawara Town provides advice based on its own welfare policies and the insight of relevant service providers in Yugawara Town on elderly care, NOGEZAKA-GLOCAL, making the most of its experience in supporting Thailand, promotes collaboration as an intermediary between local governments and universities in Japan and Thailand, based on its human networks and comprehension of the issues faced by Thai local governments. In this way, they provide assistance that maximizes their respective strengths as a local government and an NGO. In addition, through this project, various domestic and foreign organizations visit for studying and workshops at the municipal training center, established in Bueng Yitho for mutual learning about welfare for the elderly. This demonstrates that the center serves not only as a venue for mutual learning beyond national borders but also for exchange and learning among local residents in Thailand. Under the Asia Health and Wellbeing Initiative promoted by the Government of Japan, these initiatives won the Healthy Aging Prize for Asian Innovation (HAPI) Grand Prize Note 1 established by the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Mr. NAITO Yoshifumi, Executive Director of Yugawara Town, places an emphasis on cooperation among local governments, and says, “It is not that Yugawara Town teaches other local governments. Rather, we try to learn from each other in a flexible manner. Learning from one another about initiatives at the local government level also leads to building trust between us.” Based on the cooperative relationship built through these efforts, Yugawara Town has welcomed two Thai staff members, fluent in both Japanese and English, into the town’s tourist information center. These staff members, who are ready to serve foreign tourists, are expected to further promote international exchange in Yugawara Town and thus contribute to the continued development of the town’s tourism industry.

Since FY2022, Yugawara Town has been entrusted with a project under the JICA Partnership Program, and is working to spread the comprehensive elderly care implemented in the Municipality of Bueng Yitho to other local governments in Thailand. The addition of Yugawara Town to the local government network in Thailand has expanded the mutual learning network among municipalities in Thailand. With the continued cooperation of multiple organizations in Thailand and Japan, community-led elderly care is expected to spread even more widely throughout Thailand.

Note 1: Awarded to recognize innovative efforts (programs, services, products, and policies) that address the challenges facing aging societies in 14 Asian countries and regions, including Japan.