Area Advisor
Seiichi KIMURA
Project Academic Support, Institute of Gerontology, the University of Tokyo
Expertise/fields of interest
Policy formation and the setting of action plans related to social welfare for senior citizens and people with disabilities, as well as the implementation and management of such policies and plans. Establishment of community-wide systems through collaboration centered in citizen activity in the community. Mr. Kimura is very interested in senior citizen employment and rebuilding community home medical care.
Profile
Mr. Kimura began working in government on youth welfare in FY 1974. In FY 1986, he began working in consumer affairs. In FY 1993, he became an Assistant Section Chief for Consumer Affairs. He became an Assistant Section Chief for Health Promotion in FY 1995, and Section Chief for Health Promotion in FY 1999. In FY 2002, he became Section Chief for Senior Citizen Support. He became head of the Kashiwa City Health and Welfare Department in FY 2008. He entered his current post in FY 2011.
Message
Along with clarifying the path Japan should take as it rapidly ages, we will verify the effectiveness and necessity of citizen-centered initiatives through a nationwide project. In particular, we hope to learn from both local governments in the Tokyo metropolitan area suburbs and local governments with declining populations about efforts that utilize community characteristics. We hope to obtain practical new results and lessons. The role to be played by local government in this is to pursue 1) the best form of citizen collaboration, 2) administrative support policies, 3) human resources development, and 4) the securing of funding sources. In every initiative, the importance of fulfillment and work policies in senior citizens' daily lives and the rebuilding of community home medical care system as urban infrastructure will be made clear.
