PCW Japan Named Co-creation Partner for Japan Well-being Foundation's First Well-being Co-creation Grant

The Japan Well-being Promotion Council (PCW Japan; Representative Director: Yuka Shimada) has been selected as one of three co-creation partners out of 93 applicants nationwide for the 'Systemic Change-Oriented Well-being Co-creation Grant,' organized by the Japan Well-being Foundation (JWBF; Representative Director: Akiko Asai).

PCW Japan focuses on the 'local regions' where individuals live, connecting people and communities by blending wisdom, experience, and passion to build a well-being-rich Japan. The core project for this partnership is the 'Primary Industry Workation® Nationwide Foundation Building Project.' By promoting autonomous professional growth and revitalizing regions facing labor shortages, PCW Japan strives to weave true connections and realize Japan's well-being.

About the Japan Well-being Foundation Grant This grant program is conducted by the Japan Well-being Foundation with the goal of realizing a future where all living beings—people, society, and the planet—thrive in well-being. The purpose of the grant is to support practices that go beyond solving individual social issues, addressing the 'roots' of these problems, and questioning relationships, values, and social structures themselves.

From 93 nationwide applications, three co-creation partners were selected after document screening and dialogue sessions. The Foundation aims to build a community where all parties learn together and nurture the future, rather than just choosing and being chosen, facilitating the circulation of practices and knowledge conducive to social change.

About the 'Primary Industry Workation® Nationwide Foundation Building Project' This project focuses on institutionalizing self-sustaining workation models in regions that already host or wish to host Primary Industry Workations®. Specific activities include improving participant-producer matching systems, imparting key points for fostering genuine connections, human resource development, and building systems for receiving donations and implementing regional revitalization ideas.

By connecting the labor-short primary industry sites with urban workers, the project aims to enhance well-being for both regions and individuals.

The project is based on two pillars: PCW Japan's 'Primary Industry Workation®' and the human development & regional revitalization program 'TUNAGU.'

Primary Industry Workation® Primary Industry Workation® is a new working style that proactively changes Japan's future. It offers immersive experiences that impact well-being, while providing the unique, tangible, non-daily environment that fosters feelings of contribution, accomplishment, and self-efficacy. By placing workers in agricultural, forestry, and fishery settings—whether working remotely or taking time off to immerse themselves in tasks like harvesting—it enhances the well-being of both participants and local producers, leading to regional revitalization.

Originating with the 'Ume (Plum) Harvest Workation' in Minabe Town, Wakayama Prefecture, in June 2022, the initiative has hosted 1,260 participants over four seasons, entering its fifth year in 2026. It has expanded to other regions such as Mihama/Kiho Towns (Mie), Owase City (Mie), and Noto Town (Ishikawa), and evolved into the 'TUNAGU' program.

Autonomous Human Development Program 'TUNAGU' 'TUNAGU' is a human development program that leverages Primary Industry Workation® to cultivate 'autonomous talent' capable of co-creating a changing future. Its concept is to 'connect' nature and people, the future and Japan, and passion and action.

Led by Yuka Shimada, the program guides participants through four phases—pre-training, on-site training, post-training, and career coaching—over three to four months. Through 'cross-boundary' experiences, participants immerse themselves in environments, people, and experiences they have never known, allowing them to feel the 'somatic knowledge' (body-based senses/emotions) that emerges from physical labor and process it through introspection and verbalization.

During on-site training (3-4 or 6-7 days), participants visit primary industry sites in six regions including Minabe/Susami (Wakayama), Owase (Mie), Noto (Ishikawa), Takahama (Fukui), and Uozu (Toyama). They work alongside producers and engage with residents, strengthening the power to 'connect with oneself' by feeling regional issues firsthand. The result is a practical cross-boundary learning space where participants enhance their well-being, self-understanding, diversity acceptance, relationship building, and performance. Since 2023, approximately 100 people have participated.