Latest News

Salzburg Global Fellow Yumiko Mori shares how technological collaboration is enriching her work to address issues of social isolation in Japan

Photo Credit: Katrin Kerschbaumer

Yumiko Mori is a Fellow of the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network. She is the founder and chairman of Comachi Plus, a nonprofit organization and initiative dedicated to addressing the issue of isolation and mental health challenges faced by parents in Japan. 

Madhumitha Srinivasamoorthy, Impact Fellow, Salzburg Global Seminar: Can you tell me about yourself, your work, and how your work is related to Japan, India, and technology?

Yumiko Mori, Founder and Chairman, Comachi Plus: I am the founder of a nonprofit called Comachi Plus, which means raising children with a whole community... Japan faces a silent but serious problem of isolation in parenting, aggravating the falling birth rate crisis. It is said that, in Japan, every week a mother is committing suicide, one out of ten mothers suffer from postpartum depression, and 70% of parents experience isolation. As an effort to solve this problem, we run cafés and send free baby gifts to new parents to rebuild connections between parents and the community to help [alleviate the] isolation of parents in the parenting process.

When I first came across the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network, I was in Boston. Looking around me, I realized that the pain and desires of parenthood are similar no matter the place. This program gave me an opportunity to check how the issues are similar or different in the Indian and Japanese contexts. Working in the Japanese context, I also felt that I had reached a ceiling of approaching problems in the Japanese system. I was looking for newer avenues of exposure and ways of thinking. The Japan-India Transformative Technology program has been just that.

MS: Have any experiences from the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network given you further ideas for your work? What are some of your key takeaways from the program?

YM: There are several things that I've brought back from the program. I was so inspired that I made a report every single day of the program on my personal blog. I jotted down what I learned every single day of the program, [including] how people from India and Japan approach discussions differently. Although the cultural differences were substantial, in the end, we found that we had our own strengths. This was a very refreshing aspect to me.

I also delivered a reporting slide show session to people back in Japan regarding my biggest takeaways from the program upon my return. Firstly, my participation in the program taught me how to effectively communicate across different backgrounds and cultural contexts to reach an agreement. I find this very valuable. The program enabled me to narrow down problem-solving in a short span of time. I learned during the program that the time spent getting to know each other makes discussions that follow much quicker. 

Secondly, I learned about taboos and prejudice, and how narratives are important and powerful while bringing unheard voices to light. The interactions enabled me to spend some time on taboos and prejudice to understand them better. As a person working towards the representation of unheard voices, this was a valuable learning for me.

The third part was my new exposure to the connection between technology and social problems. Before joining this program, I was mostly focusing on the social part. I didn’t know how I would connect to the technology aspect of the program. But I found out, especially in the last two days, that these aren’t two different things. For example, I am thinking about clustering voices and making them into a platform so that the government or enterprises can reach the voices that aren't heard. To do that, we have to have a technological platform, [such as] AI to organize and analyze.

MS: Do you already see potential avenues of technological collaboration with the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network?

YM: Actually, I'm starting research within a university and they are interested in how they can employ OpenAI tools such as ChatGPT to read and analyze the collection of unheard voices that I presented during the program. If I did not join the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network, I may not have had the idea so clearly. The voices that I hear in the real café now can be utilized and lead to a solution through AI. Post-program, I find it much easier for me to communicate with these researchers.

MS: How has your experience in the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network impacted your work?

YM: Returning from the program, I have gained greater confidence in my initiative. The problem I am addressing is no longer unique to Japan. Even in India in urban areas, the birth rate is starting to decline. In rural areas, women are suffering from traditional gender roles, a problem that is common in both India and Japan. As we begin our project post-Salzburg, the Narrative Kitchen, we find that it is aligning itself in a beautiful manner. I have this feeling that [sharing] food in the cafés is one of the solutions to bring people together [and] to hear unheard voices. I have hence decided to make an ecosystem in Japan. With 100 people by 2025, we have more places for people to gather in the initiative and [help] more people who are isolated. From there, I would like to broaden it worldwide; it may be in Salzburg, India, or the US. I don't know where it will be, but I would like to broaden it up to the next stage and I can now clearly visualize that.

Currently, we are running a crowdfunding initiative to beat the isolation problem. Thanks to the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network, we are now reaching beyond Japan, including the reach of the US-Japan Council.  Had I not attended the program, perhaps I would not have had the idea of the crowdfunding initiative. We intend to carry our work forward, gather as many people as possible, and beat the worldwide growing isolation problem.

Since coming to Salzburg in June 2023, Yumiko has been working alongside other Salzburg Global Fellows on a project centered around the theme of inclusion titled "Narrative Kitchen".