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4. Realization of a “Diversity” where people shine

In the Meiji era when Tokyo was born, under the “family system” that existed at the time, the position of women in society was not adequately recognized. Now, Tokyo’s further growth depends on the vitality of women, who forge paths in a range of fields. With contributing factors such as a high infant mortality rate, the average Japanese life expectancy in the Meiji era was around 40 years. Now, as we are on the verge of entering an age with a life expectancy of 100 years, the enthusiasm and experience of senior citizens are important assets for Tokyo. We will further bring out the dynamism and motivation of women, senior citizens, and all of the people of Tokyo to create a sustainable “new Tokyo” together. To that end, we will realize “diversity” (a diverse city) where everyone can lead vibrant lives.

Additional promotion of measures to eliminate child daycare waiting lists

Tokyo’s greatest challenge in promoting the participation of women in society is addressing child daycare waiting lists. Since I took office as governor, this is the issue I have devoted the most effort to, increasing the number of children using daycare services last fiscal year by 16,003 -- the largest increase ever. From this fiscal year, we will continue to raise our goal, with the aim to increase capacity by 60,000 children over the three years to the end of fiscal 2019. We will also be attentive to raising the quality of childcare and implement a wide range of policies to realize an attractive environment for child rearing.

As part of new initiatives, we will support facilities that take immediate action to accommodate one-year-olds, who account for half of the children on waiting lists. We will also create an environment where the parents/guardians of children on waiting lists can use baby-sitting services with peace of mind to go to work. We will also establish a system to subsidize companies that actively encourage employees to take childcare leave, support the taking of childcare leave for one year or more, and the smooth transition back to work, as well as promote the use of childcare leave by men.

The “Comprehensive Plan for Children and Child Rearing” outlines measures for building a society where people can feel at ease about becoming a parent and raising a child, including such measures to address childcare waiting lists. At the end of this fiscal year, we will announce the interim review of this plan, which incorporates the opinions of the people of Tokyo. I will also include measures aimed at putting a stop to the “cycle of poverty,” in which a household’s financial situation entraps the child in the cycle. With the support of all of society, I wish to advance initiatives to aid children and families raising children.

Toward an era with a life expectancy of 100 years

Realizing a society where senior citizens can live with peace of mind

To build a society where senior citizens shine brightly, it is essential to create an environment that allows them to age in place with peace of mind. In order to respond to growing long-term care needs, in particular, we will raise our target for building special nursing homes for the elderly, increasing capacity to 62,000 by the end of fiscal 2025, launch support for major renovations at long-term care health facilities for the elderly, among other efforts, and further enhance the foundation for long-term care services.

Concerning securing human resources in the field of long-term care, we will advance measures such as new support packages for caregivers that combine student loan repayment and training, as well as support for seniors to find employment in the field. We will also promote the use of robots and other next-generation devices, which aim to reduce burdens on caregivers and improve the quality of life of those admitted to facilities.

In 2025, the number of seniors with dementia in Tokyo is also expected to increase by about 40 percent over 2016. Therefore, in cooperation with a TMG research institution, we will renew efforts to support municipalities in developing early detection systems and support programs and to spread the use of care programs to improve behavioral and psychological symptoms exhibited by dementia patients such as depression and refusal of care. We will support the establishment of systems to provide seamless support to patients in their community from onset through moderate to severe stages of dementia.

Supporting senior citizens in taking on new challenges

I hope to create a society that enables motivated senior citizens to always have a sense of purpose and take on new challenges both academic and professional in nature. To realize a university that facilitates lifelong learning or a “university for the centenarian age,” we will establish the Tokyo Metropolitan University Premium College (tentative name), which will enable many seniors to apply themselves to study and interaction. To ensure the program serves to enrich the lives of participants, while also offering opportunities for interaction with younger students, the university will begin trial courses starting in October and welcome the inaugural class next spring.

Working to expand employment opportunities for senior citizens, in addition to creating a “senior intern” system where senior citizens can work and acquire skills as interns at companies, we will implement comprehensive measures, including holding employment fairs and providing opportunities to learn in preparation for reentering the workforce or finding new employment after retiring, and support seniors’ renewed participation in society.

For a society where people with impairments can shine

We will also focus efforts on initiatives to support people with impairments. We will work to expand stations providing visiting nurse services for home healthcare that enables children with impairments who require medical care to receive the appropriate support and lead positive daily lives. In addition, we will further enhance support for children with impairments and their families through measures including assigning nurses to the school buses of metropolitan special needs schools for the physically impaired to provide assistance during the commute if needed.

Working to realize independent lives for people with impairments, we will advance efforts taken by society as a whole for employment, including collaboration among medical institutions, employment support agencies, companies, and others to support people with mental impairments in finding and staying at their jobs. We will also provide support for companies working to increase employment of people with impairments, while also working to grow their business. This includes support to help raise productivity and to prepare an appropriate working environment and skill development training for employees with impairments. Through multifaceted measures that support the vibrant participation of individuals with impairments, we also hope to contribute to the future creation of social firms.

By the end of this fiscal year, we will formulate a new plan that establishes new targets for support for children with impairments, in addition to developing community infrastructure and strengthening support for finding employment. While following this plan to respond to changes in the environment for people with impairments, we will work to further enhance measures to support the impaired.

Creating a barrier-free environment where everyone can sense “kindness”

Looking ahead to the Tokyo 2020 Games, we are taking a comprehensive approach to creating a barrier-free environment where everyone, including senior citizens, people with impairments, and foreign tourists, can sense kindness. Centering on more extensive barrier-free upgrades to roads, we will promote a range of improvements that incorporate the opinions of individuals with impairments, including installation of platform doors and elevators at railway stations, barrier-free improvements to lodging facilities, and replacement of Japanese style toilets with western style toilets. As a legacy of the Games that befits its hosting by a now mature Tokyo, we will advance urban development to realize a truly inclusive society.

Cultivating future talent at schools where children and teachers shine

Focusing on our children, who will take on Tokyo’s future, we will strategically advance the cultivation of those who will lead the era and the world. At 10 metropolitan high schools, classes in which students use their own smartphones and other devices for effective learning will be conducted on a trial basis, with the records of such efforts serving as big data to study measures that could lead to more tailored guidance. We will also work to reduce long working hours for teachers, including making administrative duties more efficient through ICT. In the future, we hope to realize the “Tokyo Smart School Vision” in collaboration with the municipalities to further enhance school education using cutting-edge technologies.

Concerning the programming curriculum to be introduced to all elementary schools from the 2020 academic year, we will further advance testing of effective teaching methods in collaboration with companies and others, and spread good teaching practices to all public elementary schools in Tokyo. Concerning English, which will also become an official elementary school subject from the 2020 academic year, we will begin posting English teachers to schools starting next year, and effectively cultivate the four skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing from the elementary school stage.

We will also properly respond to issues such as education inequality, long-term absenteeism, and school maladaptation right after a child enters school. We will prepare an environment where children can learn regardless of their household’s financial situation through efforts such as expanding the terakoya programs at metropolitan high schools, which aim to instill fundamental academic skills, and providing new academic support for junior high school students to help them advance to high school. We will also give support to municipalities establishing “special schools for futoko (long-term absentee) students” to serve as places for them to learn, and work to develop a consistent curriculum that covers children ages five through the lower grades of elementary school, as the first such initiative of this type in Japan. Furthermore, in accordance with the Plan to Promote Work-style Reform at Schools, which we recently announced, we will closely look at the physical and mental well-being of teachers, and work with the Board of Education to create school environments where both children and teachers can shine.

Work-style reform will be the key to sustainable growth

In this era of population decline, work-style reform, which will contribute to the employment of women and senior citizens and lead to increased productivity, is the key to fully drawing out the strengths of each and every individual and realizing sustainable growth. In a recent survey conducted on the “Flex Time Biz” campaign we launched last year, over 70 percent of respondents said that they were familiar with the concept, and I also felt a positive response to this effort. To instill this concept as the new “normal,” by extending the campaign period in the next fiscal year and employing creative methods to encourage even more companies to participate, we will further advance Flex Time Biz through public-private collaboration, and also have this lead to easing overcrowding on trains.

Telework, which will advance work-style reform, still has far to go with only 6.8 percent of Tokyo companies with 30 or more employees having adopted telework in some form at the current time. With the aim to raise this percentage to 35 percent by fiscal 2020, we will further encourage the use of telework by providing detailed support to meet the needs of companies, and efforts including promoting the establishment of satellite offices in the Tama area, which will also be effective in relieving commuter train crowding.

Toward effective measures to prevent passive smoking

Taking into consideration that Japan is a signing party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international treaty created with the objective of protecting people from health and other consequences of tobacco use, and that the WHO (World Health Organization) and IOC (International Olympic Committee) are promoting a “smoke-free Olympics,” we must firmly advance effective measures to prevent passive smoking. Last year, an ordinance proposed by members of the Assembly to protect children from passive smoking was approved. While closely watching the movements of the central government, the TMG was also aiming to present a bill at this regular session of the Assembly for an ordinance to protect the health of the people of Tokyo and fulfill our responsibility as the host city of the Tokyo 2020 Games. Although the central government recently announced its approach again, major changes were made to key portions and detailed information, including information on special exceptions for restaurants and bars, was not disclosed. To ensure that Tokyo’s measures are effective, and to avoid causing the people of Tokyo confusion, we must align our measures with that of the central government. Therefore, we will continue studies on our bill, while confirming the direction taken by the central government, and also respecting the opinions of the municipalities.