Fukuoka’s Deputy Mayor Participates in the World Bank Healthy Cities Global Analytics Launch Event

As demographic change continues globally, societies face challenges of keeping rapidly aging populations healthy and thriving in later stages of their lives. Among the countries with world’s longest longevity, Japan has long strengthened the integrated elderly care system to improve people’s health and to strengthen social inclusion of the elderly. On November 14, 2023, a  dissemination event on the World Bank global analytics publication Healthy Cities: Revisiting the Role of Cities in Promoting Health was held at the World Bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC. From Japan, deputy mayor of Fukuoka City, Ms. Yasuko Arase, represented Japanese cities to share how Fukuoka city promotes healthy living of the citizens.

The report “Healthy Cities – Revisiting the Role of Cities in Promoting Health –" is a global analytics aiming to provide policymakers and development practitioners with an action-oriented framework for achieving healthy cities. It draws on the World Bank experience in urban development, citing examples and case studies of healthy city successes and challenges globally, in which TDLC’s City Partnership Program (CPP) cities - Fukuoka and Kobe city cases were introduced from Japan. TDLC has curated these Japanese case studies in collaboration with the two cities and contributed to the analytics.

In the event, Deputy Mayor Arase explained about the Fukuoka 100 Project, the city’s 100-item action plan to achieve a healthy social model in anticipating the era where people live up to 100 years old.  Fukuoka 100 implements various projects to promote healthy living for the elderly, through daily fitness activities, good oral health, and promoting appropriate care for the people with dementia. These projects are developed and implemented in collaboration with the private sector and local community organizations. The mayor further explained that Fukuoka’s approach and solutions are data driven. Fukuoka City has conducted extensive data collection on the indicators of risk factors, such as underweight, slower walking speed, difficulty with chewing, and skipping breakfast.