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Highlighting JAPAN

December 2015

A Society of Health and Longevity

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PRIME MINISTER'S DIARY
- Visiting Mongolia and the five Central Asian countries
- Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting
- Japan-Uruguay Summit Meeting
- Japan-Netherlands Summit Meeting
- Message of Condolence by Prime Minister Abe to President Hollande of France on the attacks in Paris

COVER STORY
A Society of Health and Longevity

FEATURES

For Longevity, Good Things Come in Threes

With over fifty thousand of its citizens over a century old, Japan's life expectancy ranks high in the world. While Japanese cuisine is generally nutritious, how much do other factors such as location and lifestyle influence longevity? To find out, we spoke with Dr. Yukio Yamori, a global preventative nutritionist and longevity expert who is the director of the Institute for World Health Development at Mukogawa Women's University.

The Healing Power of Nature

Promoting a healthy lifestyle to the area's population, the Kaminoyama Onsen Kurort project is a wellness and rest spot in Yamagata Prefecture that focuses on medical science-based healthy outdoor walks and invigorating visitors through local culinary and hot spring resources.

Aiming to Live Long and Prosper

Nagano Prefecture once had Japan's worst death rate from stroke and similar illnesses, with many residents consuming high daily levels of salt. Roughly twenty years ago, however, the prefecture formerly known as Shinshu decided to improve the local lifestyle, and is now known as the country's healthiest and longest-lived prefecture. Its new Shinshu ACE Project aims to go further, uniting Nagano's residents in a drive to become the healthiest and longest-lived region in the entire world.

No Generation Gap Here

In a country with an aging population and an acute need for daycare, merging eldercare and childcare into a single facility-with the two generations interacting with and learning from each other-may be the most sociable solution of all.

Keeping the Rhythms of Life

LiryMusica's "music facilitation" program offers interactive musical interludes at nursing homes. By sharing the joy of music with seniors, LiryMusica engages them in an entertaining pursuit that brightens both their days and their minds.

A Clever and Caring Companion

PALRO, a humanoid robot being used at eldercare facilities in Japan, helps prevent dementia, assists in therapy and even lightens the workloads of nursing staff. Just how much of the burden of creating a healthy, long-lived society can companion robots like it carry on their shoulders?

Still Flying High

Jun Takahashi, the world's oldest active commercial pilot at ninety-three entered the Guinness World Records book in 2014 for being the oldest active commercial pilot alive. He's been a pilot for seventy years, and lives a relaxed, happy life under one simple philosophy - always maintain reserves of both mental and physical energy.

Life Is a Dance

SBE80! of Fukui Prefecture's Sabae City is an idol group who's average age is over eighty-they tour around the country performing choreographed versions of aerobic exercises. Still supple, energetic and full of life, they are inspiring other seniors around the country to get up and move.

SERIES

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Finding Remedies in the Soil

Professor Satoshi Ōmura, a joint recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has discovered organic compounds produced by microorganisms found in the soil that are being used to free hundreds of millions of people from the ravages of infectious diseases.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Space Explorer

Hailing from the nation of Mali, Oussouby Sacko came to Japan to expand the range of his research following a study abroad program in China. His mission is to explore the intersection between culture and the spaces people create, as well as to bring his country and Japan closer together.

WOMEN IN THE LEAD
Tipping the Scales in the Right Direction

Momo Hosokawa, a licensed International Nutrition Supplement advisor and expert on preventive medicine, is on a mission to promote and explore the state of women's health in Japan. Her primary target? Underweight women.

DELECTABLE JOURNEYS
Oden-Japan's Quintessential Winter Comfort Food

As soon as the bite of autumn chill hits the air, Japanese people know that something else is sure to follow: the steamy, fragrant, popular cooked dish called oden, a simmering hot broth stocked with a variety of mouthwatering morsels all vying for attention.