5th Healthy Aging Prize for Asian Innovation
Congratulations to the winners of the 5th Healthy Aging Prize for Asian Innovation (HAPI)!
This year marked the fifth round of HAPI, an award program designed to recognize and amplify innovative policies, programs, services, and products that address the challenges facing aging societies. The competition continues to draw impressive applications from across East and Southeast Asia, making the decision even harder each year.
We recognize the tremendous efforts and accomplishments of all those who applied this year!
The award ceremony will be held on November 10, 2026, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We hope to see you there!
GRAND PRIZE
Care & Wellbeing
Frailty Prevention Team, The University of Tokyo | Japan
Community-Led Frailty Prevention: Empowering Older Residents to Become “Frailty Supporters” to Promote Health and Wellbeing
The University of Tokyo developed an evidence-based model that promotes community-led initiatives focused on frailty prevention. The program, now implemented in over 100 municipalities nationwide, offers early intervention to prevent sarcopenia (muscle weakness) through multifaceted improvements in people’s daily way of life, including not only nutrition and exercise but also social participation. Unlike medical care that may focus on managing symptoms, the frailty checks seek to reverse frailty—grounded in the understanding that various functions can be restored through self-awareness, personal effort, and appropriate intervention—to extend the independence of older community members. Moreover, by training thousands of Frailty Prevention Supporters and by providing them with a common uniform, values, and objective, the program allows older people regardless of age or disability to transition from being recipients of support to being “contributors to the community,” and it transforms “health” into “connections.”
Social Engagement
NOLLUWA | Republic of Korea
Local Libero for Regional Revitalization and Sustainability
South Korea’s Hadong County faces a serious population crisis (older adults now account for more than 42% of the population) that has reduced community vitality. To address this, a community organization, NOLLUWA, created a collaborative, intergenerational model. This bottom-up approach strengthens community resilience and supports healthy aging. NOLLUWA’s slogan is “The Libero of Local Communities”—like the defensive playmaker role of a libero in soccer, they connect villages, residents, culture, tourism, education, and local resources to create greater social impact and stronger community collaboration. Their work includes a Village Community Fellows program that offers three-month training programs and then assigns fellows to work with village leaders and residents; a Rice Paddy Football Festival; a Seomjin River Moonlight Gathering; an autobiography writing program for older residents; a village art museum; and a village hotel. These activities promote tourism and economic revitalization and are driven by the needs and leadership of the residents.
Supportive Environments
Fukuoka City | Japan
Fukuoka Dementia-Friendly Design
To address the rise in residents living with dementia, Fukuoka City launched the Dementia-Friendly City Project in 2018 and drew up “Guidelines for Design That Is Accessible to People with Dementia,” which sets out 30 key design principles. Based on those guidelines, they began implementing the design at more than 100 facilities, including city subway stations and ward offices, and also extended it to outdoor spaces. Furthermore, the city worked on developing products and services in collaboration with people with dementia and businesses, with some of these initiatives leading to commercialization. The initiative aims to design social systems that lead to the resolution of challenges in collaboration with people with dementia, through their active participation. They also created a Dementia-Friendly Center, which serves as a design showroom. People living with dementia play an active role at reception and other areas of the center, sharing their experiences. The guide is available free of charge on their website, and a case study collection was published featuring numerous photographs of completed projects, thereby enhancing the reproducibility of these designs.
SECOND PRIZE
Care & Wellbeing
DoctorTool | Indonesia
DoctorTool—AI-Powered Primary Care Digitalization for Healthy Aging in Indonesia
DoctorTool is a major primary care digital health ecosystem in Indonesia, an AI-powered SaaS, IoMT, and patient app deployed across 2,500+ healthcare facilities in 37 provinces, that strengthens preventive care, chronic disease management, and equitable access for older adults, especially those in remote and underserved communities relying on national insurance (BPJS).
Social Engagement
Ginger Innovation | Hong Kong SAR
O’Ginger Storybites
This program creatively tackles ageism and loneliness by empowering older adults to become storytellers. Through training in storytelling and public speaking, participants transform real-life experiences into compelling stories, which they share at universities, schools, and community venues to connect generations and challenge stereotypes about aging. They also co-create multimedia content with students to promote more diverse images of older adults.
Supportive Environments
Universal Design Center | Thailand
Universal Design Center Network: A Multidisciplinary System Innovation for Integrated Aging in Place
The Universal Design Center (UDC) Network, spearheaded by Chulalongkorn University, is a multidisciplinary national network of architectural faculties providing evidence-based “system innovation” through collaborative sandboxes with local authorities to scale safe, accessible environments and integrated aging in place for older people and persons with disabilities across Thailand.
FINALISTS/HONORABLE MENTION
Care & Wellbeing
Hirosaki University | Japan
Development of a New Health Checkup Program That Contributes to Improving the Well-Being of the Elderly and All Generations
Yasuragi Social Welfare Corporation | Vietnam/Japan
Project for Supporting Community-Based Preventive Care for Healthy Aging in Vietnam
Social Engagement
Busan Metropolitan City | Republic of Korea
Our Neighborhood ESG Center
The Social Farming Academic Society of Japan | Japan
The Social Farming Academic Society of Japan
Supportive Environments
Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI) | Philippines
Upland Water Access for Healthy Aging
SPECIAL COMMENDATIONS
Special Commendation for Caregiver Support
Kaigo Cafe—Creating the Future | Japan
Supporting the Well-being of Care Workers through Dialogue
Special Commendation for Next Generation Leadership
Non-Profit Corporation KOTOBUKI | Japan
KOTOBUKI Care Patterns: Supporting “Mutual Relationships” in Long-Term Care
Special Commendation for Addressing Disaster Resilience
Jikoukai | Japan
A New Small Town Created from a Disaster-Affected Area