“Eemachi” where people can live in comfort and peace of mind even when they are old! All-Osaka will expand mutual help and support activities among residents.

Japan has entered a “super-aging society” unparalleled anywhere in the world. (Population aging rate: 29.3% in 2024)

In Osaka Prefecture, in particular, the aging of the population is progressing rapidly, with the population of the elderly in the later stages of life increasing by 460,000 people between 2015 and 2025 (10 years). At the same time, there are growing expectations for a “healthy life even in old age,” as social participation by the elderly is linked to the realization of healthy longevity.

While relying on caregivers and welfare specialists when necessary, the “Eemachi” project aims to create an “Eemachi” community in which residents can continue to live actively in their own neighborhoods by helping and supporting each other, and all of Osaka is working to encourage active social participation by the elderly, to make their lives worth living, and to foster an atmosphere of care prevention.

Project Inauguration

Commissioned by the Nursing Care Support Section, Office of Elderly and Long-Term Care, Welfare Department, Osaka Prefectural Government, this project started in 2017 and is promoting future community development in Osaka, a rapidly aging city that is also linked to the theme of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. They have been strengthening the foundation of their activities in the form of projects with the help of working people who participate as “pro bono” (volunteers who use their skills to participate) in non-profit activity organizations that help and support each other among residents. At the “Osaka Eemachi Project Grand Exchange Meeting,” where activity groups gather together, in addition to people in occupations usually involved in welfare for the elderly, local businesses, pro bono supporters, and others interested in the project have participated, creating information exchange and collaboration to solve problems that transcend the city limits.

Project Activities

From FY 2017 to FY 2024, they provided support to a total of 120 organizations, and a total of 550 pro bono workers participated in the project from FY 2017 to FY 2024. Among the pro bono projects, they provided support to an organization in Osaka Prefecture that wanted to establish a corporate partnership to exhibit at Expo . In this way, they have expanded opportunities for collaboration and cooperation among diverse sectors, which had been considered difficult in the past, and have created opportunities for further progress in solving social issues.

Future Prospects for the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai

In order to ensure that the collaboration and partnerships that transcend the boundaries of diverse sectors, for which opportunities have increased as a result of the Expo, will continue, they will increase the number of friends and situations that promote the resolution of social issues so that “Eemachi” can be realized through the support of non-profit organizations with pro bono (volunteers who participate by utilizing their skills as working people).