Future Dreams

Welcome to FDA

Future Dream Achievement [.] is a Tokyo based NPO providing employment opportunities and support to broad range of social groups that often find themselves excluded from the general workforce. These groups include people with disabilities, socially withdrawn people, people without employment education or training, homeless people, people suffering from mental illnesses such as depression, senior unemployed people and people stuck in irregular and unstable part-time employment. Our aim is to create employment opportunities in supportive and creative work environments.

Overview and Goals

In Japan, there are around 7.4 million people with disabilities. Of these, only around 6%, or about 500,000, are in employment. 10 million people are unable to escape from non-regular, part-time or short-term contract work to permanent full-time employment, representing a significant population of working poor. A further 1 million people are socially-withdrawn and 800,000 are classified as NEETs (having No Education, Employment or Training). If you add the figures to the growing population of homeless people, the number of senior unemployed workers and people who are unable to work regularly because they are primary caregivers and the result is a huge and complex social problem of exclusion, vulnerability, unfairness and burden. These groups are often marginalized by society and excluded from stable work opportunities. They also outside the increasingly strained employment insurance, health insurance and pension systems which would, in turn, benefit from the increased employment and contributions from these groups.

 

Future Dream Achievement is an NPO established to provide a work environment for socially vulnerable and excluded groups, such as those mentioned above, and for the betterment of Japanese society as a whole. To accomplish this, we have set a number of key initial goals for our first year in operation:

(1) To provide IT training to 500 people who are unable to escape from non-regular employment or lack experience in a business environment.
(2) To assist 20 people in returning to work following extended leave due to mental or physical illness.

(3) To offer opportunities to 10 people over 60 years of age with business experience to help train and mentor younger business people. 
(4) To improve the work environment for women by promoting institutionalized maternity leave and parental leave, and to offer support for people returning to work from maternity leave. 
(5) To promote the employment for disabled people, by creating a supportive and barrier-free work environment . 
(6) To establish a special subsidiary to employ 23 people with severe disabilities 

Nippon IT Charity Relay Race 2011 > FDA Blog

Future Dream Achievement is very pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Nippon IT Charity Relay Race. This year's will be held on October 2nd on the Tama Marathon Course at the Furuichiba Track and Field Stadium in Kawasaki.

As with last years event, particpants from all ages and backgrounds are welcome (being in the IT sector is not a requirement) and fun runners as well as more serious competitors can join in. 

Last years event saw over 500 runners take part and raised over 2 million yen to provide assistance to people with or recovering from depression and acute socially-withdrawn people in order to train, find employment and return to regular lives.

This year, in light of the tragic events that occurred in Tohoku in March, half of the proceeds will be donated via the Nippon Foundation to organizations participating in the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. The remaining proceeds will go to FDA to continue its hard work to provide employment support and opportunities to people with employment barriers.

As well as the race, there will be a musical, a fancy dress competition, a charity raffle and a range of fresh food, fruit and vegetable stalls. 

Entry costs 3,000yen per person or 15,000yen per team. If you don't have a team but want to run, let me know at graham@isfnet.com and we will match you up with a team.  

For more information see our relay race brochure:  Download Ekiden Brochure Web 2011.

We are also looking for volunteers and sponsors to help at the event. Again, please contact me at the above email if you think you can help.

 

 

FDA Blog: Japan Post to promote 8,400 nonregular workers to regular employees

Japan Post Holdings Co will promote 8,438 nonregular group workers to regular employees on Dec 1. Of about 208,000 nonregular Japan Post group employees, some 34,000 who met certain conditions such as working hours took written examinations and interviews.

As part of a plan to review postal service privatization under the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan, former postal reform minister Shizuka Kamei earlier this year called on the holding company to stabilize employment of 100,000 nonregular staff.

Full story @Japan Today

Japan Post to promote 8,400 nonregular workers to regular employees › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion.

FDA Blog: The First Nippon IT Charity Relay Race

After all the posts I have put up over the last few months about the Nippon IT Charity Relay Race - held last Sunday in Kawasaki - I was very disappointed not to take part in the event having to return to the UK suddenly instead. Having talked now to my colleagues and seen the photos from the day, I am really pleased to say that event was a resounding success.

The event was kicked off by Chuck Wilson, the race’s chairperson, and after a speech and a warm-up to get the runners ready, the race started. The weather was warm and fine for the 108 teams (a total of 520 runners) who took part in the 10km relay along the side of the Tama River in Kawasaki. Quite a few teams wore fancy dress – men in skirts, witches and wizards, Minnie Mouse and Aladdin’s genie were all spotted making their way along the track.

Proceeds from the event, which raised over 2million yen, will be given to the Future Dream Achievement charity to help support and give IT training to people with mental illness disabilities and offer employment opportunities. ISFnet and FDA would sincerely like to thank all the people who participated in the race and the 130+ volunteers that gave their time support to the event.

I think pictures from the day probably tell the story of the day better than I can, and below are a selection of my favourites.

The FDA Banner

 

Harry Potter...?

 

Streamlined for speed.

 

For my first wish... I want to win the race.

 

The event's chair person: Chuck Wilson

 

They're off.

 

ISFnet and FDA's founder: Yukiyoshi Watanabe

 

Passing the banner.

 

Post race breather.

 

Cooling down exercises.

 

FDA Blog: Introducing ISFnet Harmony - openness and diversity

(This is a post from ISFnet one of FDAs backers)

Background 
ISFnet Harmony Inc. was established in January 2008 as part of the ISFnet Group’s E&E (Eco and Employment) program. Harmony's aim is to offer employment opportunities, in friendly and supportive work environments, within the IT sector to people with a disability.

Interest in Harmony has been growing dramatically recently and we now hold tours around
Harmony's offices and seminars about our business model, which are always over-
subscribed. Regular visitors include people with a disability, their family, government and local government officials and business interested in our business plan and development. In 2009, over 900 visitors came to see us and this year we're aiming to double this.

What makes Harmony different?
Profitability - Harmony is currently giving a 16% return on investment.

Opportunities - We offer employment to people with a very wide range of disability.

Business Model - We have an expanding B2B model.

Satisfaction - We have achieved an annual staff turnover of less then 1%.



ISFnet Harmony 2020 Initiative
We have recently set some ambitious long term goals for Harmony that the staff there and
at ISFnet headoffice are working hard towards.

By 2020, Harmony will:
provide long-term employment to over 1000 people with a disability.
guarantee all staff employment until the age of 60.
offer all staff self-determined, meaningful work

(This initiative is being conducted in conjunction with the ISFnet Care - will post about this soon).

If you would like to come and visit us at ISFnet Harmony, please complete the .pdf registration form below. There is also a visitor's information leaflet.

Download Harmony Visitor Registration

Download Harmony Tour Information

You can also register your support for ISFnet Harmony's initiative and take part in a petition asking the government to broaden the criteria by which it recognizes disability.

Download FD Supporter

FDA Blog: Seniors 80 and over top 8 million for first time

The number of people aged 80 or older has exceeded 8 million for the first time according to a  internal affairs ministry report.

The report also estimated that 23.1 percent of the population was aged 65 or above.

Full story@:

Seniors 80 and over top 8 million for first time, ministry reports | The Japan Times Online.ISFnet Blog: Seniors 80 and over top 8 million for first time

 

FDA Blog: Suicides, depression cost Japanese economy Y2.7 tril in 2009 #Japan Today

The combined cost of suicides and depression cases to the Japanese economy totaled 2.68 trillion yen in 2009 due to lost incomes from the deaths and social security payments necessitated by the mood disorder, the government said Tuesday.

............

Among the 32,845 people who killed themselves in 2009, about 26,500 were aged between 15 and 69, the ministry said. If these people had lived on and worked until the age of 70, they would have earned an estimated total of 1,902.8 billion yen, it said.

In addition, if depression sufferers had not taken their own lives or did not have to take days off due to their condition, the government would not have had to pay 45.6 billion yen in workers’ compensation benefits, it said.

Among other costs, the ministry noted that workers would have been able to earn a combined 109.4 billion yen more if people suffering depression had taken no days off work and that unemployment benefits paid out would have been reduced by 18.7 billion yen during the 12-month period had there been no job losses due to depression.

The government also could have saved 601.7 billion yen in social security payments stemming from livelihood protection subsidies and medical costs for people suffering depression.

The total estimated losses to the nation’s economy resulting from suicides and depression cases in 2009 thus came to 2,678.2 billion yen, the ministry said.

If Japanese society can completely eliminate suicide and depression, the country would likely be able to push up gross domestic product for 2010 by about 1.7 trillion yen, the ministry said.

.........

The government will wage a weeklong awareness campaign starting Friday aimed at preventing suicides. As part of the campaign, the Cabinet Office will post a video clip on its website in which Kengo Nakamura, a midfielder of J-League side Kawasaki Frontale, and others call for the prevention of suicides, they said.

The number of Japanese people who committed suicide surpassed 30,000 for the 12th consecutive year in 2009, according to Cabinet Office data. In July alone, a total of 2,840 persons killed themselves, up 2% from a year before.

.......

Full story@:

Suicides, depression cost Japanese economy Y2.7 tril in 2009 › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion.

FDA Blog: 1 in 10 firms hires 'freeters' as regular employees #Japan Today

So-called freeters, or young workers with no regular or stable jobs, continue to have difficulty getting full-time work, even though the negative view of them by companies has somewhat eased, according to a survey report released by the labor ministry. The ministry said that 11.6% of businesses in its survey had hired part-time workers, aged 15 to 34, as regular employees in the three years from October 2006 through September 2009.

The survey covered some 17,000 companies and other business establishments, with five or more full-time employees as of Oct 1, 2009, and received valid replies from 56% of them. The ratio of respondents that hired part-time jobbers as full-time employees is almost unchanged from the 2004 survey which covered employment by companies with 30 or more full-time employees in 2003.

1 in 10 firms hires 'freeters' as regular employees › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion.

FDA Blog: NIPPON IT Charity Relay Race

Last month I mentioned that a charity event was being organized to help raise money for FDA.  All the information and background to the race can be found below. It is a team event (5 members), however individuals can join and the organizers will find a team for you to join. Please contact me directly if you don't have a team but want to take part: graham((@))isfnet.com

We are also looking for additional volunteer support staff and sponsors for the event. (Again see details below).

The money raised will specifically be used to help counsel, train and ultimately find employment opportunities for people suffering from depression and people who are socially-withdrawn (more details about this below).

Everyone is welcome to take part - not just techies. More in-depth information about taking part can be found below, however here's the URL to enter race - Http://Runnet.jp/Runtes/Racedetail/Top/T19648.html

Essential Info:

The Nippon IT Charity Relay Race 

Date:　 17 October 2010 (Sun)

Place:　Kanagawa (Kawasaki) Furuichiba Tama Stadium

Entries: Via Runnet (Http://Runnet.jp/Runtes/Racedetail/Top/T19648.html) - this is Japanese only site. English entries should be made by mail to: graham@isfnet.com

Entry Period: 19 August - 16 September

Start Time: 12:00

It's a 10km relay race with 5 stages. Each team has 5 members. Mixed gender is allowed. If individuals want to take part but don't have a team they should contact us by email.
 

************************************************************************************

NIPPON IT Charity Relay 2010

The Cause

At present there are an estimated 2.7million people in Japan that suffer from depression or are socially withdrawn, so called “hikikomori”.

Depression can be a long-term and debilitating condition that has a serious impact on the lives of the sufferers, impacting their social lives, their personal relationships and their ability to work. According to a Ministry of Health study, one in every 15 people in Japan will at sometime in their lives will suffer from some degree of depression.

Stress is a major contributing factor and people in the IT industry have been shown to be at high risk of depression. The factors that cause this are many, however some of the key reasons are:

1. Chronic under-staffing and pressure from employers to work long hours.

2. Communication with colleagues can be difficult because staff often work remotely and have few opportunities for regular personal contact. This creating feelings of isolation and of lack of support.

3. Rapid innovation within the industry puts pressure people to keep up-to-date and causes anxiety about future roles and employment.

Working within the IT sector, it is difficult to ignore the problem which is why the NIPPON IT Charity Relay Race 2010 is supporting a charity that is active in assisting people suffering from depression and social withdrawal find or return to work and lead regular lives.

 

Nippon IT Charity Relay Race Chairman: Chuck Wilson

“Run to save a young person’s life.”

Background

The Nippon IT Charity Relay Race is an event to raise money for charities that work to help vulnerable groups in society by providing training and employment opportunities. In April 2010, Chuck Wilson became chairman of the organizing committee for the race and instituted the slogan

“Run to save a young person’s life.”

 - under which the event is being organized.

The proceeds raised from the entrance fee this year will be donated to Future Dream Achievement an NPO that specializes is training and providing employment opportunities to a range of people including people suffering from mental illness and socially-withdrawn people (http://www.fda.jp/).

The entrance fee for the race is 4000yen. (This is equivalent to the average cost of providing a single counseling session for someone that is socially-withdrawn or suffering from depression or another mental illness.)

NIPPON IT Charity Relay

Entry Information

Entries will be accepted from August 19, 2010. Please apply through the RUNNET website ( http://runnet.jp/runtes/raceDetail/top/t19648.html ). The closing date for entries is September 16, 2010

 

Individual and team entries are accepted but please be careful not to duplicate applications. Team (5 members) entries require the name, date of birth and gender of the all team members and a contact telephone number for the team. For people who want to participate but aren’t able to form a 5-member team, we will be happy to find a team for you.

 

Please apply early so you don’t miss the opportunity to take part.

 

Non-IT people are more than welcome to participate.

 

Additional Information:

All events are mixed gender.

 

Stage Lengths

There are 5 stages. Each stage is 2km.

 

Entry Information

Total Distance                    10km

Entries                                Open to mixed gender teams

Entry fee                             20,000yen (5x4,000yen)

 

Sponsors / Volunteers

The NIPPON IT Charity Relay Race 2010 is being organized by a committee of volunteers chaired by Chuck Wilson.

The event is being held with the support of several corporations that are putting their support behind the cause. However, the Executive Committee is looking for additional volunteers and corporate sponsors to help with the event.

If you are interested in volunteering or becoming a corporate sponsor, the application forms and information can be found by following the links below. For any help or assistance, please contact the race organizers directly at:

Tel：　03-5786-2382

E-mail　info@fda.jp

 

NIPPON IT 2010 Charity Relay 』downloadable sponsor application (word doc) download. 40KB v. 6 2010/08/12 13:32 Nippon IT Charity Relay

Charity Relay NIT. Pdf  View Download 』[NIPPON IT 2010 Charity relay race and promotional leaflets - download. 814KB v. 6 2010/08/12 13:32 Nippon IT Charity Relay

[NIT] Volunteer Application form. Doc NIPPON IT 2010 Charity Relay 』download. 39KB v. 6 2010/08/12 13:32 Nippon IT Charity Relay

 

Competition Rules

1.The entrance fee is non-refundable after registration.

2. In the event of an earthquake, severe weather or other adverse conditions that result in the event being cancelled the organizers will have the executive decision over questions of rescheduling, the refund of fees, and notification of participants. 

3.Participants must be of sound health and have no cardiac, respiratory, or any other physical condition that might be aggravated by participation in the race. Participants take part in the event at their own risk and the organizers will not be responsible for the aggravation of any prior illness or injury resulting from participation in the race.

4. Participants agree to follow all safety instructions issued by the organizers, including instructions to individual runners based on their perceived physical condition during the event.

5. Participants agree that should an injury occur they will accept the first aid provided. The organizers accept no responsibility for aggravation of injuries resulting from participants’ refusal of medical attention. 

6. Participants are responsible for their own property and the organizers will not be responsible for any loss or damage of property that occurs at the event. .

7. In the event of an accident or injury during the event, the organizers shall only be liable to the amount covered by the insurance policy for the event.

8. Family teams are permitted to participate in the event though may be subject to approval from the organizing committee. 

9. False declaration of age, sex or health condition will result in disqualification from this and future events. Participants who are disqualified in this manner will not be eligible for refunds of their entry fees.

10.  Participants acknowledge during the course of the event that photographs, video and participant information (name and age) may be taken during the event and accept that these materials can be used for the purpose of publicizing this and future events in the media. Otherwise, no personal information about participants will be released without the express permission of the participants.

11.  Our privacy policy regarding the handling of personal agreement is detailed in a separate agreement.

12.  If any of the above rules contradict those of the event organizers agreement (found on the RUNNET website), the terms of the organizers agreement shall take precedent.

 

 

FDA Blog: Japanese women stand low on corporate ladder 25 years after law change

Twenty five years have passed since the Equal Employment Opportunity Law for Men and Women was enacted to fight gender inequality at the workplace.

By this time, people might think that a horde of college-educated women are calling the shots as corporate managers. But the latest Kyodo News survey shows that is hardly the case.

Of Japan’s 110 major corporations polled, 107 said it is important to use women’s talents, but women who are small section heads account for an average of a mere 5.4% of the total number of those holding that title.

Full story at:

Japanese women stand low on corporate ladder 25 years after law change › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion.

 

Summary of facts and figures

Of Japan’s 110 major corporations polled:

107 said it is important to use women’s talents

Women account for 5.4% of small section heads

OI the total number of managers heading larger departments, women made up 2.5%.

1.7% of corporate execs are women compared to a level of 40% of corporate managers are women in other advanced countries such as the US and Germany.

The Japanese government has set a goal of boosting the percentage of women in managerial or other leadership positions to 30% by 2020

Asked to give the percentages of women they want to see in managerial positions, the corporate respondents said an average of 18.6% for section chiefs, 15.4% for department heads and 14.4% for executives.

Out of this year’s new hires holding fast-track positions for managerial posts, an average of 27.7% were women.

Asked what they want out of female employees, 27 firms said they want women to reform their companies, and 22 said they hope to see female workers make more use of traits unique to women.

Of the companies that find female employees somewhat wanting, 28 said women should acquire a broader perspective, 13 said women should be more flexible and 12 said they do not want them to quit early.

Government statistics show 70% of nonregular workers are women and the percentage has remained more or less the same for more than 20 years.

Asked why many of their female employees are nonregular workers, 72 firms said women have difficulty holding down jobs as regular staff for a long period of time because they need to raise children.

A total of 59 said the odds are against women seeking regular employment if they have quit their jobs in the past.

75% of the corporate respondents said they are implementing some measures to help regular female workers with children.

65% have instituted a system that grants nonregular female staff regular employee status.

 

FDA Blog: 'Hikikomori' in the Oxford Dictionary of English

‘‘Hikikomori,’’ a word that has come into common usage in Japan in recent years to signify the abnormal avoidance of social contact, especially by adolescent males, has found its way into the third edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English published Thursday. The word is one of more than 2,000 new entries in the dictionary, whose first edition was published in 1998, according to Oxford University Press, the dictionary’s publisher.

Full story@

'Hikikomori' finds way into Oxford Dictionary of English › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion.