First in Sendai!! Intractable Disease ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) World Awareness Day in Sendai Event to be Held on Sunday, May 10. Nightingale T-shirts also on sale. "Blue Time Project"

SENDAI IZUI & Go. supports April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day for announcing dreams.

This press release is a dream of "SENDAI IZUI & Go."

**Launching the "Blue Time Project" to Realize ME/CFS World Awareness Day in Sendai**

Social brand "SENDAI IZUI & Go." (Location: Sendai City, Representative: Saeko Murata), which operates with the concept of "aiming for a society where people connect and help each other using the Sendai dialect 'Izui' as a communication tool," has launched the "Blue Time Project" with volunteers, named after the awareness color blue, and will hold "ME/CFS World Awareness Day in Sendai" on Sunday, May 10th.

What is ME/CFS World Awareness Day?

May 12th was designated as "ME/CFS World Awareness Day" in honor of Florence Nightingale's birthday, who is believed to have suffered from ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). On this day, landmarks around the world are lit up in blue, the awareness color, and awareness events and symposiums are held.

In Japan, an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 patients suffer from this disease, and about 30% are severely bedridden or unable to go out. Despite this, awareness is extremely low, and no established treatment method exists.

Anyone can suddenly contract this disease. This day is for raising awareness of such a disease, ME/CFS.

First in Sendai!! We will hold an ME/CFS World Awareness Day event.

First in Sendai!! We will hold an awareness event for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Let's deepen our understanding of this disease and have a fun time connecting through a documentary film screening about patients, a workshop with quizzes, and dialogue and social gatherings among participants!

Especially medical professionals, urban development professionals, education professionals, and those interested in social issues are encouraged to participate.

[Advance registration required] Please apply from the following address. https://projectblue.peatix.com/

Event content [Part 1] Film Screening (90 minutes) & Disease Explanation: A documentary film depicting the lives and symptoms of patients will be screened. The current state of the intractable disease ME/CFS will be explained in an easy-to-understand manner.

[Part 2] Participatory Workshop & Social Gathering: This is a time to learn, discuss, and have fun through quizzes and an "IZUI Card" exchange session.

[On-site Exhibition and Sales] Panel exhibitions related to ME/CFS and sales of goods such as original design "Nightingale T-shirts" will also be held. Let's dye the venue blue by wearing blue clothes, the awareness color, or Nightingale T-shirts!

▶Time Schedule *Content may be partially changed. 13:00 Reception opens 13:30 Part 1 starts (Opening, Disease Explanation) 13:45 Documentary film screening (90 minutes) 15:15 Break (Exhibition viewing, Goods sales) 15:30 Commemorative photo 15:40 Workshop (ME/CFS Quiz, IZUI Card exchange session) 16:20 Social gathering 17:00 Closing

To raise awareness of ME/CFS, we will sell original Florence Nightingale T-shirts.

Florence Nightingale's birthday is ME/CFS World Awareness Day, as she is believed to have suffered from this disease. To further raise awareness, we have created a T-shirt with Nightingale designed in blue. On the day of the event, we hope to wear this T-shirt and dye the venue blue. Nightingale T-shirts can be purchased at the SENDAI IZUI & Go. online shop. Online shop https://sendaiizui55.base.shop

What is ME/CFS?

ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is a disease where a previously healthy person is suddenly struck by severe, unexplained fatigue, and thereafter experiences intense fatigue along with weakness, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, low-grade fever, impaired thinking, muscle weakness, insomnia, or hypersomnia symptoms that persist daily for a long period.

An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 patients are in Japan. Their bodies constantly feel heavy as lead, lacking strength, and they feel as if they have the flu after an all-nighter. Some patients have mild symptoms, but about 30% are bedridden or unable to go out, and the fatigue experienced by severely affected ME/CFS patients is said to be equivalent to that of terminal cancer patients.

The core symptom of this disease is "post-exertional malaise." Extreme worsening of physical condition occurs after even slight physical activity (housework, conversation, going out) or mental activity (PC work, reading, writing). It is believed to be related to cellular energy production deficiency and neuroinflammation in the brain. It is said to be a systemic disease where the nervous, immune, endocrine, and metabolic systems are comprehensively disrupted. I explain this disease by likening it to a smartphone that can only be charged to 5%, shuts down immediately, and takes days to recharge.

Despite such severe symptoms, the cause is currently unknown, and there is no established treatment or specific cure.

The aspirations of the "Blue Time Project" representative, with volunteers

I built my career as a sales representative for a major printing company and a director for an advertising agency, but in **2004, I contracted ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)** and lost my previous life and work. I was **diagnosed with ME/CFS in 2019**. Due to extremely low awareness, it took **15 years to get a diagnosis**, and during that time, unable to move without knowing the name of the disease, the years spent lying down and staring at the ceiling were days of suffering and despair.

**"I want people to know about ME/CFS, an intractable disease with extremely low awareness and whose severity is not conveyed!"** I started awareness activities alone in 2019, and last year, I held an online event. I strongly desired to hold a real awareness event, but due to severe exhaustion and debilitation, it was not realistic for a patient to organize such an event. However, this time, several volunteers gathered in response to my call, and we launched the **Blue Time Project**, named after the awareness color blue. We will realize the dream of holding the ME/CFS World Awareness Day event with these volunteers.

### Even with an intractable disease, with understanding and appropriate support from those around them, one can contribute to society. Like Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale, born on May 12, 1820, in England, was a nurse, social entrepreneur, nursing educator, and statistician. She served as a nurse for soldiers for two years during the Crimean War between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, but upon returning home around the age of 37, she collapsed with ME/CFS. Thereafter, until her death at 90, she continued her research and writing activities from her bed, not only establishing the foundations of nursing but also carrying out social reforms in statistics, hygiene, and hospital architecture. I also contracted ME/CFS in my mid-30s, and since then, I have been researching this intractable disease and society. How difficult is it to live with an incurable disease? What kind of society would allow one to live without despair? There are perspectives that only a patient can see. In January 2024, I established the social brand SENDAI IZUI & Go., aiming to create connections and mutual support using the Sendai dialect "Izui" as a communication tool. In 2025, I was also given the opportunity to lecture at a university.

**I want to be like Nightingale!** I want to create a movement of connection and mutual support with the word "Izui." I want to contribute to society like Nightingale. Even if the disease cannot be cured, society can be. That's what I believe and how I act.

However, I am still battling the disease, and the reality is that I lack physical strength and activity funds. I am also worried about whether I can attract enough people to the event. Your support will be my energy. I would be grateful for your encouragement and cooperation.

See you on Sunday, May 10th at 13:00 at the Sendai City Community Support Center!! https://projectblue.peatix.com/

"April Dream" is a project by PR TIMES where companies announce dreams they hope to achieve on April 1st. We are seriously aiming to realize this dream.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Company Name: SENDAI IZUI & Go. Company Establishment: January 2024 Representative: Saeko Murata Email: SENDAIIZUI2024@gmail.com (Please direct inquiries about press releases to this address.)

*The brand name "SENDAI IZUI & Go." and the "IZUI" logo are **trademarked**. *SENDAI IZUI & Go. is a social problem-solving business that received the Special Jury Award at the "Tohoku SDGs Award 2025."

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