So Many Elderly

Yokosuka City - Age-Friendly World (who.int)

The population of Yokosuka City in 2017 is 409,891, and the proportion of the population aged 65 and over is 30.35%. To deal with this trend of ageing, Yokosuka City implements projects for the elderly toward “Creation of a society where people remain active throughout their lives,” with many residents live a healthy life, being active for a long time.

We emphasis on promoting a community-based integrated care system, dementia strategies, social participation and improvement of living environment. For this purpose, we are providing various services.
For the elderly to age in place, it is important to provide medical, nursing care and welfare services in a comprehensive manner, so we are also building a framework to realize this vision.

Yokosuka City is located in the Miura Peninsula area, southeast of Kanagawa Prefecture, where municipalities have a close relationship. Yokosuka City, with other 4 municipalities in this area together, stated “the declaration of the peninsula that improve ME-BYO” at the Miura Peninsula Summit. In this context, Yokosuka City is implementing various projects to improve ME-BYO.

In order to make Yokosuka City more age-friendly, we accelerate our efforts collaborating with Kanagawa Prefectural Government and other municipalities in this area, aiming at extension of healthy life expectancy and promotion of health. Also, we will listen to the needs of the elderly, the opinions of citizens and experts, and reflect these factors on policies. And by linking with the comprehensive plan of Yokosuka City, we will implement age-friendly projects in various fields.

(ME-BYO 未病: Rather than regarding health and illness as being mutually exclusive, the concept of ME-BYO views a person’s mental and physical condition as continuously changing along a spectrum between health and illness).

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What is ME-BYO?

Kanagawa Prefecture’s Healthcare New Frontier health policy package centers on the concept of “ME-BYO,” which, in traditional Eastern medicine, is defined as neither healthy nor sick. Kanagawa Prefecture builds upon this concept by classifying the body’s condition as being in a state of constant transition that cannot be strictly categorized as being either healthy or sick.

Addressing ME-BYO does not stop at a patient’s symptoms of illness, but rather it strives to address the body’s condition as a whole and encourage people to take a pro-active approach to health. This means that individuals are supported to maintain health and prevent the onset or further progression of disease through lifestyle-based approaches that complement medical approaches. And in Kanagawa Prefecture where there are a variety of natural resources, the prefecture has created a ME-BYO strategic area where ME-BYO strategies are on-going.

Issued in January 2014, the “Kanagawa Manifesto of Curing ME-BYO” explains the ME-BYO strategy to the public and outlines areas of focus. As described in the Manifesto, this strategy is built upon two pillars: cultural integration of the ME-BYO concept and community cooperation toward a common goal. To achieve health through “curing ME-BYO,” the strategy focuses on diet, exercise, and social participation.

Japan Health Policy NOW – Curing ME-BYO (japanhpn.org)