LIFE & CULTURE

ITO Maiko shown running a cell-cultivation
experiment in a laboratory. “Even if one test
produces a good result, I have to repeat it twiceor more in order to write a research paper. It’s avery long path to travel, but it’s fun.”

BOOSTING
RECURRENTEDUCATION
THAT BUILDS THE FUTURE“I keep hitting a wall at
various points in my studies, butovercoming it is fun.”So says ITO Maiko, an actress
who has been in the entertainment
world since debuting in her teens.
Through her job, she came acrossthe field of preventive medicine
and it sparked her interest. To learn
about the subject more deeply andgive something back to society,the skills to give something backto society, have I?”
Having the longest healthy
life expectancy of any country
has motivated many Japanesepeople to study and continue toacquire and refine skills to lead
their long lives more actively.
The Council for the Creation ofFuture Education, established byPrime Minister KISHIDA Fumio
last December, and in which Ito
also participates, is proposingthat Japan create an environment
that
encourages
recurrent
education and advocating theTo create new value in an era ofunpredictability, it is essential to keep
returning to school to update one’s skill set.
A woman who—while continuing her
career in entertainment—has been
studying preventive medicine since entering
university in her mid-40s, talks about thesignificance and joys of recurrent education.

she entered the e-school at Waseda
University’s Faculty of HumanSciences, a correspondence coursewith most of its lectures available
online. However, Ito found thatbalancing her studies with her
career and family was not aneasy task. Her physical conditionoccasionally suffered as sheburned the midnight oil, trying
to complete her school reports

alongside her regular job. She also
had the misfortune of having aseminar on preventive medicine
canceled because the professor
who had taught the subject retired.
And yet, Ito did not give up.
Whenever she bumped against awall, she returned to her original
intent and asked herself, “Whydid I want to start learning atuniversity? I still haven’t acquired

Balancing academia and work is far from easy,
but Ito has had support from those around her.
She advocates changes to society that would
make recurrent education easier to pursue.
Top: She was appointed “traffic safety ambassador”
through her acting job. MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS
Bottom: Ito at the graduation ceremony for her
master’s degree.

transformation of society.
Every time Ito overcomes adifficulty, a new world opens
up for her. The seminar that
she took on robotics to replace
the canceled one on preventive
medicine revealed a new path for
her when she heard that robots
could prevent the decline inmotor function associated withaging. Using this knowledge,
Ito developed a device thatallows seniors to perform squats
properly, thereby helping prevent
musculoskeletal decline. That led
her to pursue a master’s degree
and then work with a company
to develop a more advanced
preventive-care robot called
LocoPyon. The robot talks toseniors to boost their motivationand performs squats with them.
When Ito subsequently decided
to pursue a doctorate, she
enthusiastically approached her
professors about switching thesubject of her research to basic
gerontology. She currently spends
her days conducting cell-cultivation
experiments to find foods thatslow aging.
“To use our skills to solve social
challenges, we need to go back toschool. Recurrent education has
also changed my values. Studying
in a different field is stimulating,and I believe my positive approach
will help me contribute to society.”
However, Ito points out thatthe way that higher education isdesigned may be an issue when it
comes to increasing the numberof adult learners. Regardless, she
has high hopes. “I would expect
the government to create a moreencouraging environment,” sheadded, “such as by lowering
tuition, introducing more diverse
fields of study, and engaging in
more proactive efforts to add
online classes.” In response to theCouncil for the Creation of Future
Education’s suggestion, the Japanese
government’s Basic Policy on
Economic and Fiscal Management
and Reform 2022 has included suchactivities as visualizing the results ofadult education and supporting
the development of programs
addressing the needs of future
growth areas.
As a practitioner of recurrent
education, Ito hopes to giveback to society by becoming amessenger and talking about herown experience. “When I entered
university in my mid-40s, a futurethat I hadn’t imagined opened up
to me. The more I learn, the more I
equip myself with new tools. I wantpeople to know the importanceof developing new interests andtaking on new challenges.”
Ito emphasizes the importance of recurrent
education at the Council for the Creation of Future
Education, to which she belongs. ASAHI SHIMBUN