Tokyo Tower Lights Up in Hopeful Purple: First IBD Awareness Light-up Event in Japan to be Held on May 17 for World IBD Day – Rep. Shoko Noda Scheduled to Attend

Tokyo Tower to be Lit Purple for the First Time for IBD Awareness

The General Incorporated Association "The Path to Health" (Representative Director: Taisei Koshiba) will host the "WORLD IBD DAY 2026 Light-up Event IN JAPAN" on Sunday, May 17, 2026, an awareness event aimed at promoting understanding of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Co-organized by the Japanese Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (JSIBD), and supported by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Ishikawa Prefecture, Toyama Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture, Minato City, Kanazawa City, and Hokkoku Shimbun.

This event is held in line with the spirit of "World IBD Day," an international awareness day. Events will be held at two locations: Tokyo and Kanazawa. The light-up project will feature Tokyo Tower, a landmark of Japan, being lit in purple for IBD awareness for the first time in Japan, announced by the organizers at the Tokyo venue. This initiative will expand as a multi-regional awareness action extending to Kanazawa, Gifu, Toyama, and Kagoshima.

Through the light-up of Japanese landmarks like Tokyo Tower and various other locations, we aim to visualize the "invisible difficulties" faced by patients and their families in the heart of society, thereby expanding the circle of understanding and support.

Furthermore, building on last year's achievements in Kanazawa, the 2026 event will evolve into a nationwide awareness event that transcends regional boundaries, with events held in two locations—Tokyo and Kanazawa—and nationwide light-up collaborations.

*At the Tokyo venue, Representative Shoko Noda is scheduled to deliver a speech and greeting at the talk session and lighting ceremony.

This event also carries the significance of public-private-academic-political collaboration, where industry, administration, academia, and national politics come together to address social issues. By taking a cross-sectional view of medical care, education, employment, and social systems, we aim to convey how society can enable people living with IBD to exercise their strengths authentically without giving up on their future.

Official Information

Content

Official Website
https://world-ibd-day0519-event.site/

Event Name
WORLD IBD DAY 2026 Light-up Event IN JAPAN

Date
Sunday, May 17, 2026

Time
11:00-20:00 (tentative) *Kanazawa venue 11:00-19:00 (tentative)

Organizer
General Incorporated Association "The Path to Health"

Co-organizer
Japanese Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (JSIBD)

Conveying the reality of IBD, which is not yet sufficiently known to society, in conjunction with World IBD Day

World IBD Day on May 19 is an awareness day established to globally spread understanding of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

This event is planned in line with that objective, aiming to create an opportunity for more people in Japan to learn about IBD.

In Japan, the number of IBD patients is approximately 420,000, making it one of the intractable diseases with a large patient population. A significant characteristic is that the onset often concentrates in individuals aged 10s to 30s, which can affect crucial life stages such as higher education, employment, career development, marriage, and childbirth. However, because symptoms are often invisible externally, it is difficult for their challenges to be understood in schools, workplaces, and local communities, often failing to lead to necessary considerations.

Therefore, a major goal of this event is to create an opportunity for society to understand the reality of those living with such "invisible intractable diseases." Beyond merely raising awareness about the disease, we aim to expand the scope of awareness as an entry point for society as a whole to consider reasonable accommodations and forms of support.

Tokyo Tower's light-up: More than just a performance, a "message to society"

The greatest symbol of this event is the purple light-up of Tokyo Tower at the Tokyo venue. Purple is the symbolic color associated with World IBD Day and impressively conveys the spread of support and understanding. By holding the first light-up for IBD awareness in Japan at Tokyo Tower, a landmark representing Japan, we aim to create an opportunity for not only medical professionals and those directly affected but also people who usually have no contact with IBD to naturally become interested. The purple light floating in the night sky serves as an encouragement to patients and their families, as well as a declaration of society's willingness to step forward in understanding.

Purpose of this event

Creating a nationwide awareness movement through events in Tokyo and Kanazawa, centered on light-ups in 5 regions

The "WORLD IBD DAY 2026 Light-up Event IN JAPAN" is not a project confined to Tokyo. Building on the activities accumulated in Kanazawa last year, in 2026, while holding events at two locations in Tokyo and Kanazawa, the light-up project will expand to five regions—Tokyo, Kanazawa, Gifu, Toyama, and Kagoshima—thereby connecting regional initiatives to a nationwide awareness movement.