Embrace 'Age Locally' in the Second Half of Life! Launching 'Local Life Shift,' a Magazine for Middle-Senior Generations

Kannai Innovation Initiative Inc. (Headquarters: Naka-ku, Yokohama; Representative Director: Masanobu Morikawa) has produced and released a booklet titled 'Local Life Shift: Future Lifestyles for Middle-Seniors,' aimed at individuals aged 50 and older. It showcases role models who engage in volunteering, side jobs, re-employment, and entrepreneurship within their local communities.

[Background of the Booklet] With the shift away from lifetime employment practices and the fundamental changes in work due to the spread of AI, the middle-senior generation faces unprecedented waves of change in their professional environments.

Meanwhile, diverse work styles have emerged in Japan. Today, we live in an era where individuals can choose how they work regardless of age, whether by extending their employment as salarymen, leveraging hobbies as side jobs, working multiple concurrent jobs, or engaging in volunteer activities.

Since 2020, Kannai Innovation Initiative has held courses centered in Yokohama to encourage social participation for seniors, either to solve local challenges or to utilize their personal passions and skills. The 'Yokohama Positive Aging' course, which began in 2023, has attracted approximately 300 participants. Through this program, it has become evident that when middle-seniors discover new social roles and engage in activities with local businesses or organizations, it leads to the creation of 'ikigai' (a reason for being) and potentially contributes to health outcomes, such as frailty prevention.

[Booklet Overview and Structure] (Format) A4 size, 16 pages, color (Structure) - Role model interviews (Maki Gomi, Takao Ishimura) - Introductions to senior community hubs (BABA lab, Kozumi ANNEX) - Dialogue: 'Supporting Senior Community Participation through Technology' (Atsushi Hiyama x Yuka Haruta) - How to take the 'first step' toward local engagement - Student testimonials