＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
In late November, a poster promoting “Life Conferences” by Koyabu Kazutoyo, a comedian affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo, drew complaints from cancer patient groups and others that it “incites anxiety” and “contains content that is hurtful to patients and their families, and lacks consideration for the people involved,” leading the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to decide to stop sending the posters to local governments.
In this article, I would like to consider this issue.
1. What is a “Life Conference”?
“Life Conference” is the nickname for “Advance Care Planning,” which was formulated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in November 2018.
Advance care planning means “thinking about what is important to you, your wishes, and the type of medical care you would like to receive, and talking to people you trust.”
An educational statement from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (excerpt) reads as follows:
Anyone can suffer a serious, life-threatening illness or injury at any time. It is said that when life is in imminent danger, approximately 70% of people are no longer able to make their own decisions about future medical care or to communicate these to others.
If you were to find yourself in such a situation, a family member or someone you trust would talk to your medical and care team about your medical care and treatment, imagining how you would feel, asking yourself, “If it were you, I think you would probably think this way.”
Again, having someone you trust who knows your values and feelings well can be a great help.
It is by no means the case that everyone has to have a life conference.
It is ultimately something that each individual should think about and proceed with on their own initiative. Sufficient consideration must be given to those who do not want to know or think about it.
On the other hand, by holding multiple life conferences, you will be able to convey your inner voice in the event that you are no longer able to express your own feelings, and it will also ease the emotional burden of those you care about.
2. Why is that “Life Conference Awareness Poster” no good?
That poster may have received strong protests because of “Koyabu Kazutoyo’s funny face” and the poor writing, but the awareness-raising purpose is perfectly legitimate.
Some people seem to think that it is inappropriate to use comedians and that the fees paid to Yoshimoto Kogyo are too high, but if the notices had been posted in public places such as city halls rather than hospitals, I think they could have made quite an impact and helped to raise awareness and promote the Life Planning Conference.
3. The necessity of “life conferences”
I have written articles before about “digital inheritance” and “the problem of elderly people with dementia withdrawing money from their savings,” but I think that in the future, it will become increasingly necessary for families to discuss and prepare for “end-of-life care” and “final care” while the individual is still alive and healthy.
Even if you leave the house in good spirits in the morning, you may suddenly be involved in a traffic accident, or collapse from a cerebral infarction or heart attack. Rather than viewing such topics as taboo and avoiding them as “bad luck,” I think this is an issue that should be faced by the general public as part of “preparing for the end” in a broad sense.
4. It is also important not to be swayed by minority opinions
If the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare believes that it is doing the right thing for the people, it should maintain a firm stance that does not get swayed by minority opinions and provide polite explanations in response to complaints.
In today’s climate in Japan, where people have become increasingly intolerant, there seems to be mixed opinions online about the poster in question, but if the government were to simply take it down by saying, “Yes, we’re sorry. We’ll take it down,” just because there has been fierce protest from some patient groups, wouldn’t it end up losing the trust of the majority of ordinary citizens?
This seems to be a similar situation to the “20 million yen pension shortfall problem.”
I hope that they will continue to promote awareness of “Life Planning Conferences” without fear of criticism.