Nordic Talks Japan - Smart Cities in Aging Societies

14 Feb 2024, 5.00 PM

Many urban areas in developed countries are facing significant and complex challenges in the coming years related to climate change, the green transition, and an aging population.

Smart cities are often presented as part of the solution, where technology and digitization are claimed to play a central role. The authorities must make choices and decide on investments at a time when technological development is proceeding very fast and where there is an urgent need for a green transition.

A key issue is how decision-makers should take into account an increasingly aging population in order to prevent them being excluded from urban areas.

In what ways do smart cities support the social inclusion of older citizens? It is frequently asserted that smart technologies are key elements of smart cities. Is this true or does the technology lead to further exclusion? What about the ethics and the advanced technology? Is smart technology a threat to the right to self-determination?

The issue also touches upon a number of other major issues, such as retirement age, tax burden and health services. Predictability in terms of quality of life is important for democracy and stable governance and concerns us all.

The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session.

Date and time

February 14th, 17:00-18:30

Speakers:

Svend Haakon Kristensen, President & Representative Director, Laerdal Medical Japan K.K
Kirsi Kotilainen, Smart energy and built environment, Solution sales lead, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Atsushi Hiyama, Professor, Graduate School of Social Data Science, Hitotsubashi University / Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo

Moderator:

Momoko Nakatani, Associate Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Program:
17:00 Opening remarks by Line Aune, Minister Counsellor, Norwegian Embassy
17:10 Panel discussion
17:45 Q&A
18:25 Closing remarks by Henna Knuuttila, Minister Counsellor, Finnish Embassy
18:30 End of streaming

Partners:

Embassy of Denmark in Tokyo, Embassy of Finland in Tokyo, Embassy of Iceland in Tokyo, Embassy of Norway in Tokyo, Embassy of Sweden in Tokyo, Finnish Institute in Japan, Nordic Innovation House Tokyo

Other:

The event will be held with English-Japanese simultaneous interpretation, recorded, and made publicly available.

Smart Cities in Aging Societies 高齢化社会におけるスマートシティ — Nordic Innovation House