https://www.jst.go.jp/pr/info/info1762/pdf/info1762.pdf

JST has established and recruits for a new R&D area named “Social Systems Where Care Takes Root” (RISTEX). The aim is to build a society where “care” that supports each other naturally spreads in order to survive in a society with a declining birthrate and aging population. Professor Yumi Nishimura of Tokyo Metropolitan University has been appointed as the area director. The establishment period of this area will be from FY2025 to FY2011.

In FY2025, all of the baby boomer generation have become elderly people aged 75 or older, accounting for approximately 18 percent of the total population. In addition, a sharp decline in the young population is expected in the 2030s, and the population decline and aging population in Japan are accelerating. RISTEX believes that it is necessary to take a broader approach to these social problems by realizing spontaneous and functional communities that can support each other’s lives as the foundation of people’s lives, and infrastructure that can interact reciprocally with the environment outside of oneself (including the natural environment).