COVER STORY • Super Aging Society Where Elderly People Foster Vitality • 8EInterview with Keiko Kiyohara, the Mayor of Mitaka Citylderly Citizens — Invaluable
Human Resources for a City’sWelfare

By Japan SPOTLIGHT

Mitaka is one of the cities in the suburbs of Tokyo, well known for the Museum of Japanese Animation ofDirector Hayao Miyazaki, who created a number of attractive and well-known animation films such as
Spirited Away, Nausica of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky. Surrounded by more greenery than thecenter of Tokyo, the city has a reputation for more active citizen participation in its administration than any
other city in Japan.
Elderly citizens are no exception in this, and their example shows how a community can take advantageof the experience and wisdom of older people who are living longer and in good health thanks to theremarkable progress of medical science.
The mayor of Mitaka, Keiko Kiyohara, plays a key role in making Mitaka a city where elderly people areactively working for the interests of society. In an interview on March 7, 2017, she told us how we canempower elderly people as invaluable human resources in an aging society.

Introducing Mitaka
JS: Could you please briefly
introduce yourself and tell us inparticular what you are trying toachieve in your administration ofthe city?

at random to join our “Town Management
Discussion” on a certain day and present
their specific views on any policy issue on
this occasion. Whenever we work on
construction projects such as a park or aschool and on making general long-termplans, we try to collect as many opinions
and views on them as possible from thecitizens. In addition, we also select them e m b e r s o f t h e c i t y g o v e r n m e n t ’s
advisory council at random from among
citizens so that the silent majority’s views
can be well reflected in our policies.
There are, of course, people in their 70s
or 80s included among those participatingin the city’s governance as the council’smembers or at any other opportunity.

Kiyohara: The city of Mitaka has justcelebrated the 67th anniversary of its
foundation. I am the sixth mayor of thiscity. Our goals for the administrationwhich we have been pursuing consistently
since its foundation are “achievement ofpeace”, “respect for human rights” and“realization of local autonomy”. We
consider “citizen participation in localgovernance” and “collaboration between
the city government and the citizens” as
JS: Mitaka City is well known for
its active liberal movements invery important in achieving those three
the second half of the 19thgoals. We created “The Mitaka City
Keiko Kiyohara, the Mayor of Mitaka City
century in Japan. Is thisFundamental Ordinance of Autonomy” inemphasis on citizen participation the root of local
2006, defining “citizen participation in local governance” andgovernance in Mitaka?
“collaboration between the city government and the citizens”, and weare promoting now all kinds of policies with these two crucial
Kiyohara: Yes, that history may affect our governance a little.
principles. We always bear in our mind that we should partner withHowever, more importantly, this was started by Mitaka’s third mayor,
all the citizens in a wide range of opportunities. Let me introduce
Dr. Heizaburo Suzuki, who was thinking about harmonizationsome symbolic events.
between the longtime residents and the newcomers moving in due to
We make it a rule to ask citizens older than 18 years old selected
34 Japan SPOTLIGHT • May / June 2017

the rapid population increase in the 1970s. What we call“community-based administration” was established then. We now
have a community center in each of the seven community residents’areas. The first one was opened in 1978 and was run by anautonomous resident association comprising citizens selected fromamong those who applied by public subscription. This was almost
the first case of citizens’ direct participation in local community
governance in Japan.
In the late 1970s, all the cities, towns and villages in Japan were tocreate a “basic concept” for their local governance building
requested by national law. Mitaka, in formulating specific plans alongwith the “basic concept”, set up a “town council” consisting ofcitizens to reflect the views of the ordinary people. I was theyoungest member of this council then, a graduate student, one ofthose selected to reflect the views of young women in their 20s in
the city’s administration.
Even 40 years before “The Mitaka City Fundamental Ordinance ofAutonomy” defining citizens’ participation in local governance andcollaboration between the citizens and local government wasadopted, Mitaka started practicing it in advance.

Aging Society & Mitaka
JS: With this solid basis in democracy, Mitaka started

thinking about addressing issues raised by the aging
society. Is this why residents in Mitaka are getting
increasingly grey these days?

Kiyohara: No. In reality, there are a large number of younger families
living in Mitaka, and the percentage of residents over 65 is still below
the average all over Japan. But among all the cities in Japan, themale life span is longer than the average and Mitaka is one of thosecities enjoying the longest such life span in Japan. We started
thinking about the interests of elderly people, since there have beensome who have played an important role in our civic activities andwe have respected their contributions to our governance. There arearound 100 neighborhood and community associations in Mitaka
among which people in their 70s or 80s are very active as leaders.
There are also active elderly executives among the seven communitycouncils. I do not think this is bad. I say to those aged members asmayor, “It would be wonderful if you could play a responsible role inour society for your whole life, provided the stubbornness we often
observe in elderly people does not create any trouble with others.”
In the past, we had four female presidents among those sevencommunity councils. At this moment, we happen to have no femalepresident. The oldest president is now 89 years old. Apart from age,
if the head of the organization stays for so many years it could lose
flexibility and vitality. I assume that all the community councils think
about such demerits and try to avoid having their leaders stay as theheads for too many years.
On a different note, concerning the “Long-term Care Insurance

MAP

Location of Mitaka City
とうきょうと東京都Tokyoに ほんぜん ず

日本全図Japan

み たか しちず

三鷹市の地図Mitaka City

Source: Mitaka CitySystem” that began with the arrival of the 21st century, we believethat for the smooth administration of this insurance scheme it iscrucial to prolong life in good mental and physical health, and not tohave an increase in the number of aged people at the care need leveland support need level. This has been shared with all the citizens in
Mitaka since the introduction of this insurance scheme. I would like
you to know that a “health diary” system to encourage selfmanagement of health by each citizen had already been introduced in
the 1970s, and a very high degree of collaboration among medical
experts such as the associations of medical doctors, dentists andpharmacists has been working well to support this system. Our
health experts work very hard on health checks, preventive care, andhealth guidance on specific diseases such as diabetes.
In addition, all the seven resident community councils are engagedin activities to promote health by physical exercise, such as walking
at each community center. We have always advocated for the ideathat elderly people can ideally continue to stay in their home town
until their last moments. This is a goal shared by the whole ofMitaka. I have always said it would be beneficial for aged citizens tokeep working and enjoying a prolonged life in good health and above
all participating in social activities to promote our city’s welfare andprosperity. In November 2004, at my initiative, a “Local Care Networkin the Mitaka region” was founded in the Inokashira area where thelargest number of aged people in Mitaka were living.
This is a citizen-oriented human network loosely connecting all
kinds of people with a keen interest in welfare services, including
associations of doctors, dentists, pharmacists, members of thewelfare commissioners, neighborhood associations and care
supporters for the handicapped. With this network, the aged, thehandicapped or people working on raising children can get together
in the same venue and discuss civic welfare services. This would be
expected to lead to improving the quality of welfare services
provided by the city government.
This is a unique approach by Mitaka to promote local welfare
systems by the citizens’ own efforts in addition to services like healthJapan SPOTLIGHT • May / June 201735

COVER STORY 8

help of professors and students at Japan Women’s College ofPhysical Education.
Both organizations also work on caregiving for elderly people. It
used to be considered a tragedy that the elderly would have to work
to help other aged people. But now, in our city, there are many olderpeople who, if they are in good health, think caregiving for otheraged people in need would be a means of self-fulfillment. They are all
positive thinkers who are optimistic about the aging society.
We also have a “Local Care Network” which was started as asupport activity for the aged, but recently there seems to be multigeneration interactions occurring within this network. For example,older people give advice to young mothers on how to take care of
their children in cases of emergency. The network has thus become avenue for meeting and communicating between young parents
raising their children and the elderly.
insurance, medical and welfare services for which the city
government is responsible.
JS: Respecting diversity is certainly what our national
government is now trying to pursue. Mitaka has been
doing this for a long time by taking account ofvarious views in promoting its policies.
Kiyohara: Yes, it is certainly true that the city government has been
pursuing diversity in promoting its policies, but there are cases thatshow that citizens themselves are pursuing diversity in their activities
after retirement.
The “Mitaka Silver Human Resources Center” is the first humanresources center in Japan that is a public interest incorporated
association. It aims to help people after their retirement to find newjobs. Anyone over 60 is eligible to be a member of this organization.
The average age of the registered male members of the center is73.6 years and the oldest member is 94. The average age of thefemale members is 72 and the oldest one is 91. The average age of
those working actually is around 73. There are various jobs that canbe offered to them. The most popular one is gardening. There aresome people earning good money by gardening after having learned
it by themselves after retirement. Other jobs include making sliding
paper doors (fusuma), caregiving services, teaching children, andbeing a concierge for bicycle parking spaces or sports facilities.
Another important job is delivering Mitaka’s public relations papers
and letters from the city’s local parliament to all 92,000 households
in the city. We have been doing this since 2003 when I was electedmayor.
On the other hand, “Club of the Aged” run by Mitaka Community
Social Welfare Council has been engaged not only in art and culture
promotion activities but also in daily volunteer work at the reception
at Kyorin University Hospital in the city. They have also been working
on arranging lectures on health maintenance by doctors working atKyorin University or consultations or guidance on physical exercise
to maintain health based on the outcomes of tests organized with the36 Japan SPOTLIGHT • May / June 2017

Elderly Supporting the Young
JS: It would be great if young people or children could
learn lessons about life from elderly citizens.
Kiyohara: Yes. Certainly, in the case of Mitaka we have many
examples of older people supporting the education of children. Manyelderly citizens support teachers with some school courses forchildren in need of help as volunteers. In promoting primary andlower secondary school education in which the community
collaborates, we organize exchanges of students between a juniorhigh school and two or three neighboring elementary schools, inboth course work and after-school activities and events. It is not only
the school teachers but also the parents and the residents of thedistrict who are involved in supporting those activities. People whose
grandchildren are attending those elementary schools are inparticular active in their contributions. We have more than 20,000
volunteer teachers in 15 elementary schools a year. We have also a
civic hall for the children where older people teach them someJapanese board games such as Go or shogi. In addition, we havesenior volunteers dubbed “school angels” who promote safety for
pupils and watch over them on their way to school in the morningand coming home in the late afternoon. They belong to an NPO
called “Senior SOHO Fukyu Salon MITAKA” consisting of members
over 55 years old. The city government trusts them with this work.
JS: We need more daycare facilities today as womenare encouraged to work rather than staying at homeas mothers due to the shortage in the labor force.
With elderly people’s support, could we compensate
for the current shortage of daycare facilities?
Kiyohara: Yes. We have prolonged daycare from early in the morning
until late in the evening in our public and private daycare facilities. Inthese cases, we ask retirees over 60 years old to support the full-time child care persons for one or two additional hours to maintainsecurity for these children. In Mitaka, there are offices forconsultations on issues relating to children, including questions
about child abuse. Elderly child care people are also working in thoseconsultations. This is certainly encouraging for us, as these experts
volunteer to continue to work for the interests of children.

Self-fulfillment for Elderly in Local
Community
JS: In Japan, we often see retired men become
suddenly depressed after leaving their company. Butassuming they can live for many more years in good
health after retirement, thanks to the progress of
medical science, these working venues you
mentioned would be ideal for them.
Kiyohara: Exactly. In Mitaka, we produced two brochures, one titled“Let’s Expand Our Human Network in Our Home Town for MutualSupport” and the other titled “A Guidebook for Mutual Support inMitaka to Lead You to a Happy Life”. These aim to provide
information on possible jobs for retired people who may be
depressed and believe there is no place for them to work in their own
region. Men who have worked for a company often put too muchweight on their company life, rather than their family life, and often
feel there is very little room for them to work in their home towns.
Mitaka started promoting the concept of community in the 1970s to
let them know that not only companies can be venues for selffulfillment but their home towns also, where there are town
meetings, residents’ associations, residents’ councils and otherplaces where they could start playing sports or activities related totheir hobbies.
JS: In thinking about working conditions for theelderly, the older they are, the shorter their possible
working hours would have to be. Would this be animpediment for them?

Kiyohara: I think it would be possible to solve this problem. In the“Mitaka Silver Human Resources Center” we have a flexible working
schedule depending upon personal capacity and time available.
Some people work for three hours and others for four. Depending on
the day of the week, some can work and some cannot. We cancoordinate these different working schedules and achieve work
sharing or time sharing. This is a key to the success of this workingsystem.
It would be difficult for one single person to take all theresponsibility but it would be possible for a team. A team leader canmanage the whole work by thinking carefully about a member’s timeschedule and his or her physical condition. They are occasionallyeven engaged in risk management by replacing someone in bad

physical condition with someone else. In allocating the working
obligations for each member, they need to think about eachmember’s preferences too. A member’s earnings would depend upon
the content of the work as well as the frequency. The whole system
can be managed by fairness as well as in the spirit of mutual support
among the members. In managing work sharing among aged
volunteers, there should be a consensus among the members that a
job opportunity is to be assured in accordance with their competency
and efforts. This is a principle of fairness to be respected by thecommunity.
If you are competent in information and communication
technology (ICT), you can be qualified as a team leader who could
work on job assignments for the members. Therefore, it is important
for aged people to learn about ICT. We organize lectures on ICT forthe elderly and the handicapped to encourage them to participate inany social activity. In this sense, ICT is truly useful for promoting
autonomy for the aged.
In observing these volunteers activities, I think once you start anactivity you would feel like trying another one. This is how elderlypeople can become increasingly positive about life.

Future of the Aging Society in Mitaka
JS: What is your vision of the future of Mitaka?
Kiyohara: We have to think about how long we can prolong a life
span in good health rather than a simple life span, which is I guess akey challenge not only for Mitaka but also for Japan overall. In order
to increase the number of elderly people in good health andautonomy in Mitaka, we will start our new project in fiscal 2017 tohelp the elderly strengthen their muscle power in collaboration withKyorin University Medical Department Hospital, as well as promoting
preventive care as we have done so far.
Above all, mental health and vitality will be a key to achieving along life span in good health, I believe. We will produce as many
programs as possible for older people to join at our Lifelong
Learning Center or Comprehensive Health Care Center. I believe thatby participating in those activities, older people could make goodfriends and be motivated to live longer in good health, so I hope as
many as possible will join our programs. Since we have been
pursuing peace and respecting human rights, as I mentioned at thebeginning, the rights of the elderly must be respected as well, and so
we must try to provide whatever they may want as a local
administration, such as any volunteer activity or any art or culture or
sports activity.
I hope these services will contribute as much as possible tocreating a society where the elderly can enjoy mental and physicalhealth for a long time.

Written with the cooperation of Naoko Sakai who is a freelance writer.

Japan SPOTLIGHT • May / June 201737