Japan Post seems to have decided to effectively withdraw from the "watching over" project, which has begun to be implemented by various local governments.
Initially, an operating subsidiary was to be established with the launch of the business, and Kunio Tanigaki, vice president of Japan Post, was to assume the post of president. The company had planned to distribute about 5 million tablet terminals to the elderly to use, but decided not to do so because of the cost of introducing them and the manpower required to teach them how to use them.
As the birthrate declines and the population ages, former President Taizo Nishimuro had indicated that Mimamori Service would become a new pillar of the company's business. However, with no prospect of returning to profitability as originally planned, the company has decided to liquidate the negative legacy of former president Nishimuro and turn to solid management.
Innovation through IoT is needed in the watchdog business
It's not a profitable business by any stretch of the imagination, so if it's really going to be done, it's a business that the government needs to put a lot of effort into. I don't want to put it this way, but we should have a sense of crisis that we are likely to fall into a vicious circle where people who want to work will be dragged down and our national power will fall further.
Also, if you try to patrol and watch over them via human hands, it will only take time and effort. As an IoT device for the elderly, you could have them wear a batch on their chest, and start by visualizing their range of movement and managing their physical condition, for example.
I don't like the idea of wasting taxpayers' money, but it's a big problem that we can't afford to do nothing about, so I'd like to see various attempts to create a "form of watchful waiting without human intervention" using advanced technology.
