Volume 70 Number 1 Innovations to Improve People’s Quality of LifeSocial Innovation Enhancing QoL for Everyone
People are questioning how best to arrange society in the light of the new values and ways of living brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of particular importance is to maintain and enhance people’s QoL. Along with the latest initiatives by Hitachi and its partners, this issue presents a wide range of the latest technologies and solutions for human-centric cities and for the healthcare sector.
Cover Story
Building Hybrid Communities in the Era of 100-year LifespansNew Regional Community Model Set against Background of People-oriented Digital Society
At a time when it is not uncommon for people to live to 100, how to overcome frailty is a critical challenge. Professor Katsuya Iijima, Institute for Future Initiatives of The University of Tokyo, presents his ideas about new social systems and the steps needed to create a society in which people can enjoy long and healthy lives.
Pursuit of Organizational and Societal Transformation Starting with HappinessAn Alternative to the 20th-century Growth Scenario
People are rethinking how companies should organize themselves and their working environments. Kazuto Ataka has argued for a change in mindset to help build a new future. Here, he talks to Kazuo Yano, a Hitachi Fellow who has recently launched a business that focuses on happiness, about their respective initiatives.
Preparing the Ground for Self-healthcare to Enhance QoL in a Time of CoronavirusSurvey of Maternal and Child Health at Iwamizawa City, Hokkaido and Co-Creation Project for Remote Prenatal Checks and Consultation
In recognition of the “new normal,” people are looking to encourage social activities in ways that avoid COVID-19 infection. In this article, two key people involved respectively in a survey of maternal and child health in Iwamizawa City, Hokkaido and in remote prenatal checks and consultations at Hokkaido University Hospital talk about their work.
GLOBAL INNOVATION REPORT
China’s City of the Future: Xiong’an New Area
As a millennium plan, a project with national significance, the Xiong’an New Area project in China is the first National New Area to be established on a national scale in the 21st century. This article looks over the history of urbanization in China and gives an overview of the plan for Xiong’an New Area and reports on the progress of construction.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Improving QoL Where and How People Live
In recent years, activities aimed at improving people’s QoL are growing in a lot of regions as the Japanese government encourages the reformation of work styles and building comfortable cities. Hitachi, meanwhile, has been working to create a “Human City” in which everyone can enjoy a healthy, safe, and comfortable life. This section focuses on a wide range of technologies and solutions that improve QoL for people through urban and regional developments.
- Hitachi Digital Smart Cities Featuring Continuous Value Creation by People and Digital Technology
- Life Solutions Made Possible by Connected AppliancesEnhancing QoL by Meeting Needs of Increasingly Diverse Lifestyles
- Sensing and Vehicle Control Technologies that Provide Safety and Comfort with Improved QoL
- Mobility Solutions that Enrich People’s Lives
- Actions of Hitachi-UTokyo Laboratory toward Realizing Next-generation Smart Cities
- Happiness PlanetSupport System for Promoting Management Objectives in Partnership with Employees
QoL Improvement Initiatives in Medicine and Healthcare
Expectation is rising for minimally invasive treatments and regenerative medicine that enables definitive therapy for intractable diseases. With its partners, Hitachi is working on developing particle therapy systems that will preserve patients’ QoL and in vitro diagnostic systems that will realize high-speed advanced testing. Hitachi is also working on researching regenerative medicine. This section presents Hitachi healthcare technologies and solutions.
- Smart Therapy Business Using Particle Therapy Technology for Better Cancer Treatment QoL
- Regenerative Medicine that Enables Radical Treatment and Automated Cell Culture Technology that Supports It
- In Vitro Diagnostic Systems for Advanced and Rapid Medical Testing
- New Applications for Air Conditioning Solutions in Regenerative MedicineModularization of Cell Processing Facilities and COVID-19-ready Negative-pressure Clean Booth
Hitachi’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
300,000 Employees Working as One, Drawing on Strengths from across Hitachi’s Diverse Business Portfolio
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Hitachi has made the health and safety of all stakeholders a top priority, including customers and other partners as well as its employees and their families around the world, taking actions to help prevent the spread of infection and to minimize the impacts of the pandemic.
Smart City Initiatives in Thailand: Key Concepts and Methods
Based on strategies such as Thailand 4.0 started in 2017, Thailand is now accelerating digitalization in various fields. This extra contribution from the Digital Economy Promotion Agency of Thailand (depa) introduces what a smart city is and Thailand’s initiatives to achieve it.
