A First for Sendai!! ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) World Awareness Day in Sendai: Event to be held on Sunday, May 10th. Nightingale T-shirts also on sale. "Blue Hour Project"

SENDAI IZUI & Go. supports "April Dream," a project that encourages companies to share the dreams they hope to achieve on April 1st.

This press release represents the dream of "SENDAI IZUI & Go."

Launching the "Blue Hour Project" to realize ME/CFS World Awareness Day in Sendai

"SENDAI IZUI & Go." (Location: Sendai City; Representative: Saeko Murata), a social brand operating under the concept of "aiming for a society that connects and helps one another using the Sendai dialect term 'izui' as a communication tool," has teamed up with volunteers to launch the "Blue Hour Project," named after the awareness color blue. We 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 the birthday of Florence Nightingale, 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, it is estimated that there are 100,000 to 300,000 patients. Despite about 30% of them being bedridden or having difficulty leaving their homes due to severe symptoms, awareness remains extremely low, and no established treatment exists.

Anyone can suddenly fall ill with this disease. This is a day to raise awareness about ME/CFS.

A First for Sendai!! We are holding an ME/CFS World Awareness Day event.

This is the first ME/CFS awareness event in Sendai! Let's spend a fun and connected time deepening our understanding of this disease through a documentary film screening about those affected, workshops using quizzes, and dialogue and social gatherings among participants.

We especially invite medical professionals, urban development professionals, educators, and those interested in social issues to attend.

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

Event Details [Part 1] Film Screening (90 min) & Disease Explanation: Screening of a documentary film that realistically depicts the lives and symptoms of those affected. We will provide an easy-to-understand explanation of the current state of the intractable disease ME/CFS.

[Part 2] Participatory Workshop & Social Gathering: A time to learn and talk while having fun through quizzes and an "IZUI Card" exchange.

[Venue Exhibits & Sales] We will hold panel exhibits about ME/CFS and sell goods such as original "Nightingale T-shirts." Wear blue clothing or a Nightingale T-shirt to help dye the venue blue!

▶ Time Schedule *Content is subject to change. 13:00 Reception starts 13:30 Part 1 starts (Opening & Disease explanation) 13:45 Documentary film screening (90 min) 15:15 Break (Exhibit viewing & merchandise sales) 15:30 Commemorative photo 15:40 Workshop (ME/CFS quiz & IZUI Card exchange) 16:20 Social gathering 17:00 Closing

Selling original Florence Nightingale T-shirts to raise awareness of ME/CFS

Florence Nightingale, who is believed to have suffered from this disease, was born on the day designated as ME/CFS World Awareness Day. To further increase awareness, we have produced T-shirts featuring a blue design of Nightingale. On the day of the event, we hope to dye the venue blue by wearing these shirts.

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 person who has lived a healthy life is suddenly struck by severe, unexplained fatigue. From that point on, they experience intense fatigue along with weakness, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, low-grade fever, impaired thinking, muscle weakness, and insomnia or hypersomnia symptoms that persist daily for a long period.

It is estimated that there are 100,000 to 300,000 patients in Japan.

The body constantly feels as heavy as lead, lacks strength, and feels like one has caught the flu after an all-nighter. While some have mild cases, about 30% are bedridden or have difficulty going out, and the fatigue of severe ME/CFS patients is said to be equivalent to the symptoms of terminal cancer.

The core symptom of this disease is "post-exertional malaise." It is believed that extreme physical deterioration after minimal physical activity (housework, conversation, going out) or mental activity (PC work, reading, writing) is related to energy production failure at the cellular level and neuroinflammation in the brain. It is considered a systemic disease where the nervous, immune, endocrine, and metabolic systems have comprehensively broken down.

I explain this disease by comparing it to a smartphone: you can only charge it to 5%, it shuts down immediately, and it takes days to recharge.

Despite such severe symptoms, the cause has not been elucidated, and there are no treatments or miracle drugs.

Thoughts from the "Blue Hour Project" representative, together with volunteers

I built my career as a sales representative at a major printing company and as a director at an advertising agency, but I was diagnosed with ME/CFS in 2019 after falling ill in 2004. I lost my previous life and job. Because awareness is extremely low, it took 15 years to get a diagnosis. During that time, not knowing the name of the disease and being unable to move, the years spent just lying down and staring at the ceiling were days of suffering and despair.

"I want people to know about the intractable disease ME/CFS, which has extremely low awareness and whose severity is not understood!"

I started awareness activities alone in 2019, and last year, I held them online. I desperately wanted to hold a real-life awareness event, but because of the severe exhaustion and weakness, it was not realistic for a patient to host one. However, this time, several volunteers gathered to my call, and we launched the "Blue Hour Project," named after the awareness color blue. Together with these volunteers, I will realize the dream of executing an ME/CFS World Awareness Day event.

Even if you suffer from an intractable disease, if you have the understanding and appropriate support of those around you, you can contribute to society. Just like Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale was a nurse, social entrepreneur, nursing educator, and statistician born in England on May 12, 1820. She spent two years nursing soldiers in the Crimean War between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, but fell ill with ME/CFS around the age of 37 after returning home. From then until her death at 90, she continued activities such as research and writing from her bed. She not only established the foundations of nursing but also carried out social reforms in statistics, hygiene, and hospital architecture.

I also fell ill with 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 us to live without despair? There is a perspective that only those affected can see.

In January 2024, I established the social brand SENDAI IZUI & Go. with the goal of creating relationships that connect and help each other using the Sendai dialect term "izui" as a communication tool. In 2025, I was also given the opportunity to lecture at a university.

I want to be like Nightingale, too!

I want to create a movement of connecting and helping each other with the word "izui." I want to contribute to society like Nightingale. Even if the disease cannot be cured, society can be treated. That is what I believe as I carry out these activities.

However, I am still fighting the disease, and the reality is that I lack both physical strength and operating funds. I also have anxiety about whether I can attract people to the event. Your support is my energy. I would be grateful for your encouragement and cooperation.

Let's meet at the Sendai City Civic Activity Support Center on Sunday, May 10th at 13:00!! https://projectblue.peatix.com/

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

Company Name: SENDAI IZUI & Go. Established: January 2024 Representative: Saeko Murata Email: SENDAIIZUI2024@gmail.com (Please use this address for inquiries regarding this press release.)

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