Maternal and Child Handbook App 'Boshimo' Now Available in Watarai Town, Mie Prefecture!

Bosimo Co., Ltd. operates the maternal and child handbook app 'Boshimo', which has been introduced in Watarai Town, Watarai District, Mie Prefecture, and launched as the 'Watarai Child-rearing App' on April 1st (Wednesday).

Watarai Town's basic philosophy is "Everyone watches over, nurtures, and grows together with nature, our Watarai children." To support the happiness and healthy growth of children, the town is committed to providing seamless child-rearing support through community collaboration.

'Boshimo', which allows digital recording of data from paper maternal and child health handbooks and is already adopted by over 830 municipalities, has been selected. This implementation aligns with the government's policy of utilizing electronic maternal and child health handbooks and promoting maternal and child health DX*1.

'Boshimo' is an app that easily supports vaccination schedules, health check-up result management, and regional information distribution via smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Data is stored in the cloud, serving as a backup in case of maternal and child health handbook loss due to disasters. It also supports continuous use when moving to other municipalities or changing devices, ensuring peace of mind for users.

'Boshimo' to be Provided in Watarai Town, Mie Prefecture, Offering Ample Support for Child-rearing Households!

To further enhance support for pregnant women, children, and child-rearing families, Watarai Town established the "Children and Families Center" in April of Reiwa 7 (2025). This center integrates the "Child-rearing Generation Comprehensive Support Center (Maternal and Child Health)" which handles consultations for pregnant women and infants, and the "Children and Families Comprehensive Support Hub (Child Welfare)" which consults with child-rearing families requiring assistance or support due to abuse. By strengthening collaboration, the town aims to provide a system that addresses various concerns and difficulties of all pregnant women, children, and their families residing in the town, connecting them to necessary support and services.

Furthermore, the "Watarai Town Child-rearing Support Center" is working to create an environment that supports both children and guardians through initiatives like "Wata-kko Plaza," where parents and children can play freely, age-appropriate interaction spaces, and refresher courses for guardians.

To allow child-rearing households to utilize the town's initiatives more conveniently, 'Boshimo' has been adopted as a new tool for disseminating child-rearing information.

Support Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Child-rearing with a Community-Focused Child-rearing App!

The 'Watarai Child-rearing App', adopted by Watarai Town, is a service compatible with smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It features comprehensive functions to assist busy mothers and fathers juggling childcare and work, including recording and managing health data for pregnant women and children, managing vaccination schedules, providing advice on childbirth and child-rearing, sharing functions with family members like grandparents living far away, and notifying users of regional information distributed by the town.

The "Dekita yo Kinenbi" (Milestone Anniversary) feature, usable as a child-rearing diary, is based on examples of maternal and child health handbook formats from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. It allows users to record milestones related to child development and child-rearing, including those from the "Parent's Record" section of the maternal and child health handbook, along with photos and messages. It also serves as a guide for children's growth and development.

Moreover, in cases of environmental changes due to factors like infectious diseases, the app can instantly deliver crucial information, such as cautionary advice from the municipality and guidance from public health nurses, via text and video to those who need it. This supports an environment where parents can confidently experience childbirth and child-rearing, even during emergencies.

**<Comment from Watarai Town Mayor Tadahiko Nakamura>**

Watarai Town is a naturally rich area surrounded by verdant forests, with the Miyagawa River, boasting the nation's best water quality, flowing through it. Under the philosophy of "Everyone watches over, nurtures, and grows together with nature, our Watarai children," we aim to be a town where children grow up healthily in nature, watched over by the community, and where guardians can confidently raise their children. To achieve this, relevant departments are collaborating to promote child-rearing support.

We have now introduced the 'Watarai Child-rearing App' as part of our continuous support from pregnancy to child-rearing. In addition to previous postal notifications, the app allows us to deliver timely, push-notification alerts for the town's child-rearing information. We hope families will utilize this tool for enjoyable child-rearing, including managing children's vaccination schedules and growth records.

**◆ Main Features of the 'Watarai Child-rearing App'**

**[Information on Various Systems and Services Provided by the Municipality]**

● Information on various subsidy systems such as child medical expense subsidies and child allowances, and application procedures suited to pregnancy and child-rearing periods. ● Various announcements distributed by the municipality.

**[Recording and Management]**

● Recording of physical condition and weight during pregnancy (graphical representation). ● Recording of fetal and child growth (graphical representation). ● Checking the degree of obesity/thinness using growth charts (graphical representation). ● Vaccinations: Automatic display of standard vaccination dates, management of scheduled and actual vaccinations, alerts for missed vaccinations. ● Health Check-up Information: Recording of health check-up data for pregnant women and children.

**[Information Provision and Advice]**

● Basic information on childbirth and child-rearing. ● Knowledge and advice tailored to the week of pregnancy or the child's age. ● Videos on bathing, preparing baby food, etc. ● Information on nearby facilities (hospitals, kindergartens/nurseries, parks, child-rearing facilities, etc.).

**[Child-rearing Diary: Dekita yo Kinenbi (Milestone Anniversary)]**

● Record children's growth with photos. ● For milestones, upload photos with a "First Milestone Template" that includes the date and word (e.g., First... fetal movement/kick/roll-over/sitting up/crawling/standing/walking, etc., recording approximately 150 items).

**[Data Sharing]**

● Children's growth records and health data can be viewed on family members' smartphones and posted on social media.

Our company's vision is to achieve zero friction in pregnancy and child-rearing. To realize this, we are expanding and coordinating support areas (maternal/child health check-ups, vaccinations, infant health check-ups, etc.) through 'Kosodate DX®'*2, establishing one-stop application/procedure systems for child-rearing, and promoting the sharing of maternal and child health information with related organizations (medical, childcare/education, specialized institutions, etc.). Through this, we aim to co-create a society where parents' "anxiety and burden" are reduced, and child-rearing is "safe and simple" in collaboration with the community.

Service Name: Watarai Child-rearing App Monthly Fee (incl. tax): Free Access Method

● App: Search for 'Boshimo' on the App Store and Google Play (Supported OS: Android 8.0 or higher, iOS 15.0 or higher) ● Web Browser: Access https://www.mchh.jp

* Individuals residing outside the target municipality can also use the app, but please check the official website for information specific to your municipality. * Available features may vary slightly depending on your municipality.

*1: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Website "Basic Policy for Promoting Children's Policy DX 2025 Reference Materials" https://www.cfa.go.jp/assets/contents/node/basic_page/field_ref_resources/6cfab22c-d2bf-4dd1-81ea-49308519ac3a/6f948f38/20250630_councils_kodomo_seisaku_DX_6cfab22c_08.pdf

*2: For details on the 'Kosodate DX®' service, please visit: https://www.mchh.jp/boshimo-kosodatedx

* 'Kosodate DX' is a registered trademark of Bosimo Co., Ltd. * Google Play and Android are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google LLC. * App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. * iOS is an OS name of Apple Inc. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and is used under license.