"I Realized I'm Not Alone" — The 7th Aphasia Day Connects 18 Venues Nationwide, with 1,926 Participants

On April 25, the "7th Aphasia Day" event was held, connecting 18 venues nationwide and individual homes online. A total of 1,926 people participated, including in-person, online, and archive viewers, making it the largest event to date, surpassing last year's 17 venues. Also at the Tokyo venue, awareness bookmarks are created and distributed annually by the "Talk Yuyu" center in Sanda City. The back of the bookmark lists points for conversing with people with aphasia, such as: ・Speak slowly, clearly, and in short sentences ・They are not good with 50-character charts. Aphasia is a condition caused by brain damage from strokes or other incidents, resulting in impairment of language functions such as "speaking, listening, reading, and writing." The number of patients in Japan is estimated to be around 500,000, but because it is "not visible," social understanding is limited, and patients and their families often face isolation. Misunderstandings are common even in the medical field. This year's theme was "The trigger that helped you take a step forward." The event was held simultaneously at 18 venues in 12 prefectures from Hokkaido to Kagawa, where a video of five people with aphasia from across the country talking about overcoming difficulties and rebuilding their lives was watched simultaneously at all venues. The main venue in Tokyo was provided free of charge by Cybozu Inc. in their office on the 27th floor of the Nihonbashi Tower. Students from four universities, including Kansai University of Welfare Sciences and The University of Shiga Prefecture, also participated, creating an opportunity for direct interaction between patients and students. Cybozu Inc. provided the venue. Kiyomi Watanabe from the Social Design Lab commented, "I learned about aphasia through this event. I would like to learn more from now on." In the participant survey, many responded that they "felt they were not alone." "I met people of the same age with the same worries. Watching it with my wife clearly changed our day. I hope one day we can be that kind of presence for someone else." (Family member) "I don't have many places to go and tend to stay at home, so I'm grateful for events like this that give me a chance to go out." (Person with aphasia) "It was great to see them enjoying what they can do now without giving up." (Person with aphasia) This year, a new initiative was also undertaken to visualize the "difficulties" at the 18 venues nationwide using AI (Google NotebookLM). The voices collected from the patients will be used for proposals to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and local government agencies. The most common difficulties mentioned by the patients were: ① communication breakdown due to inability to speak, ② lack of understanding and isolation due to their "normal appearance," and ③ difficulty adapting to the information society, such as fast-paced announcements and complex digital operations. The voices of people with aphasia and their families were analyzed with NotebookLM. In the run-up to the event, a five-day series of online seminars was held as "Aphasia Week" from April 20 to 24. A lecture on "Long-term Recovery from Aphasia" attracted 176 participants, and a live stream by a speech-language-hearing therapist drew 248, demonstrating the high demand for learning opportunities. In addition, a seminar on "third-person response," a phenomenon where communication is bypassed based on a person's impression, was held by Mr. Akira Yoshikai of the Association for the Promotion of Plain Japanese, where participants discussed the social engagement of people with aphasia. Mr. Akira Yoshikai lectured on "third-person response," which tends to leave people with aphasia behind. NPO ReJob Osaka aims to make Aphasia Day not just an annual anniversary, but a day where patients and their families across the country can feel 'Let's keep going.' 【List of Venues】Each venue and cooperating organization: Tokyo (Main) Cybozu Tokyo Nihonbashi Tower 27F; Hokkaido Hakodate City Kameda Koryu Plaza "Kotono-wa" Aphasia Exchange Cafe; Miyagi Irodori no Oka (Higashimatsushima City); Fukushima Takeda General Hospital Takeda Hall (Aizuwakamatsu City) Fukushima Prefecture Federation of Aphasia Friendship Associations; Tochigi Utsunomiya City Minami Library Stroke Survivors' Association Tochigi; Saitama Sonic City Conference Room (Saitama City) NPO ReMind; Shizuoka NPO Kokorashisa (Shizuoka City) Sunpu Visiting Rehabilitation Community Katariba; Osaka-Izumi Community Cafe Oasis Challenged Net Izumi Osaka; Osaka-Daito Daito City Lifelong Learning Center Across Kikusawa Design Office; Osaka-Hirakata Supple Murano NPO Center Certified NPO Esperanza; Hyogo Talk Yuyu 1st Studio (Sanda City) Talk Yuyu; Kyoto Kyoto Koka Women's University Gathering of Young People with Aphasia in Kyoto; Kagawa Kagawa Comprehensive Rehabilitation Welfare Center Kagawa Higher Brain Dysfunction Friendship Association Bochibochi; Shimane Palmate Izumo Izumo Ening Talk no Kai. Participating Schools: Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, The University of Shiga Prefecture, Kochi University of Rehabilitation, Osaka College of Medical Welfare. 【Special Sponsoring Companies】 Kotoba no Tenshi Inc., U-Style Laboratory Inc.