{"id":9266,"date":"2026-01-26T14:40:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sphstoriesstg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=9266"},"modified":"2026-01-26T14:58:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:58:50","slug":"manga_working-in-nursing-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/people-culture\/manga_working-in-nursing-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing the appeal of nursing care to children using manga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reframing nursing care with the \u201cNew 3K\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sompo Care\u2019s original manga, titled \u201cDetailed Study! Working in Nursing Care: Spreading Happiness!\u201d aims to transform the conventional 3K image of nursing care. In Japanese, 3K refers to \u201ckitsui\u201d (difficult); \u201ckitanai\u201d (dirty); and \u201ckiken\u201d (dangerous). Our manga reinterprets the 3K image of the profession as \u201ckaeteiku\u201d (to improve); \u201ckachi-aru\u201d (of value); and \u201ckando-dekiru\u201d (with inspiration).\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an aging Japan, securing nursing care personnel is urgent for its future. Sompo Care is thus encouraging young children to take an interest in nursing care by conveying how meaningful and rewarding it is.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manga that we developed to that end was published as part of Kodansha BECK\u2019s Social Field Trip manga series.\u200b Sompo Care\u2019s president, Takamitsu Washimi, wants to teach children about nursing care. He enlisted many people to ensure that our manga clarifies what nursing care involves, why it is rewarding, and how the body ages. The manga aims to portray nursing care to children as a dream job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nursing\u2011care professionals and manga artists collaborated to make the content easy for children to understand while communicating nursing care\u2019s profound nature and the latest technologies used in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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A few pages from the manga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recognition and distribution of the manga<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sompo Care\u2019s manga is not sold in bookstores. It was donated to around 20,000 elementary schools and 3,000 public libraries within Japan. And its reach continues to expand.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentation to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At a ceremony at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in December 2024, Sompo Care president Washimi presented a copy of our manga to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike. Governor Koike expressed the expectation that \u201c2025, when an enormous number of Japan\u2019s baby boomers reach age 75, will see Japan become a super\u2011aged society and make securing nursing care personnel all the more important.\u201d President Washimi, in turn, spoke of his desire to give nursing care the new 3k image and make it into a profession that children dream of. He also introduced Sompo Care\u2019s wide\u2011ranging initiatives, including its \u201cCare Support Center\u201d pavilion at KidZania Tokyo<\/a> and its children\u2019s cafeterias<\/a>.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Governor Koike (right) showed interest in nursing care technologies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

By reading this manga, I hope children will understand the importance of nursing care and the need for care workers.<\/p>\nYuriko Koike
Governor of Tokyo\u200b<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Teaching and listening to students nationwide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After elementary schools across Japan receive the manga, they hold classes guested by Sompo Care and also sessions where students present on what they\u2019ve learned. Matsubara Elementary School, for example, in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture, held a guest class for fourth graders themed \u201cLet\u2019s learn about nursing care work.\u201d Fourth graders at Syoho Elementary School, in Kyoto City, gave presentations about their hands\u2011on study at a Sompo Care facility. Seeing children delve into and eagerly ask questions about the ingenuity and technologies of nursing care settings strongly impressed everyone involved.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outreach class at Matsubara Elementary School<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
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Presentations on hands\u2011on study by Syoho Elementary School students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Receiving moving messages from sixth graders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve also gotten heartwarming feedback from children who have read our manga. Sixth grader Tamaki shared that she \u201crealized that nursing care means slowly and patiently helping individuals with things they can no longer do on their own,\u201d revealing a thorough understanding of the essence of nursing care. Children also ask pointed questions from their unique perspectives, expressing surprise, for example, at the latest technologies in nursing care settings and concern for safety during disasters. We provide detailed responses from Daisuke, a character in the manga, to enhance their understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking the message global<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nursing care is an important issue amid an aging Japanese society. Our manga, which was first produced in Japanese, has been read by many people within Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the core idea and the reason for producing the manga are not unique to Japan. In that regard, an English edition<\/a> was produced to spread the appeal and importance of nursing care to a broader audience.\u200b Our hope is that the English edition will familiarize people worldwide with nursing care and with Sompo Care\u2019s new 3K. By crossing language barriers, we hope to introduce to more children the value and potential of jobs in nursing care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nursing care as a dream job. This is how Sompo Care is sharing the appeal of nursing care with children through manga. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":9238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[60,106],"class_list":["post-9266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-culture","tag-caregiving","tag-csv-creating-shared-value"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9266"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9271,"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9266\/revisions\/9271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.sompo-hd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}