Statement by H.E. Ambassador YAMANAKA Osamu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, at the Side Event – CSocD61: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Older Persons: Healthy Ageing in a Digital World
2023/2/9
(As delivered)
Thank you for the floor, Ms. Gitanjali.
I'm Osamu YAMANAKA from the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.
First of all, I would like to thank the ITU for leading the planning of this side event. Japan has been working closely with the ITU to achieve universal connectivity and a sustainable digital transformation. The Permanent Mission of Japan is honored to co-host today's event on “ICTs and Older Persons” together with ITU, WSIS, UNDESA, and WHO. I am also pleased to meet online for the first time with Mr. Seizo Onoe, the new Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. I would like to emphasize that we are ready to continue to work closely with the ITU under your leadership.
Aging is an important topic on the global agenda as the number of older people is growing at an unprecedented rate. There is no doubt that aging is a major issue in Japan, as well. As of 2021, out of a total population of Japan, around 30% are aged 65 and over. In 40 years, we expect that one out of every 2.6 persons will be aged 65 and over.
As one of the world’s “super-aging nations”, Japan faces challenges in sustaining economic activities, social security systems, people's daily lives, and local communities, which can no longer be addressed by conventional policy approaches. To address these challenges, we focus on researching and promoting the active use of ICTs to improve the quality of life of the elderly and to improve care services.
Today, we look forward to hearing the experiences of all the panelists; Ms. Masumi Ono from UN-DESA, Dr. Anshu Banerjee from WHO, Mr. Charles Bark from HiNounou, and Ms. Tafadzwa Muusha from the University of Zimbabwe, and Mr. Michael Hodin from Global Coalition on Aging, and we look forward also to having feedback from the floor as well. We also warmly welcome Dr. Kenyu Nishimura, who generously accepted our invitation to join today’s event from Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. Dr. Nishimura provides online consultations for the elderly in rural areas and remote islands in Japan, and we are eager to hear about his tireless efforts in the field.
I hope everyone will enjoy today’s event. Thank you for your attention, and I will return the floor back to Ms. Gitanjali.
I'm Osamu YAMANAKA from the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.
First of all, I would like to thank the ITU for leading the planning of this side event. Japan has been working closely with the ITU to achieve universal connectivity and a sustainable digital transformation. The Permanent Mission of Japan is honored to co-host today's event on “ICTs and Older Persons” together with ITU, WSIS, UNDESA, and WHO. I am also pleased to meet online for the first time with Mr. Seizo Onoe, the new Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. I would like to emphasize that we are ready to continue to work closely with the ITU under your leadership.
Aging is an important topic on the global agenda as the number of older people is growing at an unprecedented rate. There is no doubt that aging is a major issue in Japan, as well. As of 2021, out of a total population of Japan, around 30% are aged 65 and over. In 40 years, we expect that one out of every 2.6 persons will be aged 65 and over.
As one of the world’s “super-aging nations”, Japan faces challenges in sustaining economic activities, social security systems, people's daily lives, and local communities, which can no longer be addressed by conventional policy approaches. To address these challenges, we focus on researching and promoting the active use of ICTs to improve the quality of life of the elderly and to improve care services.
Today, we look forward to hearing the experiences of all the panelists; Ms. Masumi Ono from UN-DESA, Dr. Anshu Banerjee from WHO, Mr. Charles Bark from HiNounou, and Ms. Tafadzwa Muusha from the University of Zimbabwe, and Mr. Michael Hodin from Global Coalition on Aging, and we look forward also to having feedback from the floor as well. We also warmly welcome Dr. Kenyu Nishimura, who generously accepted our invitation to join today’s event from Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. Dr. Nishimura provides online consultations for the elderly in rural areas and remote islands in Japan, and we are eager to hear about his tireless efforts in the field.
I hope everyone will enjoy today’s event. Thank you for your attention, and I will return the floor back to Ms. Gitanjali.