Toyohashi, Aichi Pref., Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)–A cafe in central Japan set up an old bus stop with a fake timetable installed but no buses arriving, serving as an early example of an initiative known as a “benevolent lie” for individuals with dementia that is now spreading nationwide. The Anki cafe in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, is designed to be an interaction space for people with dementia and their families. The idea of setting up a mock bus stop to prevent people with dementia from wandering away from care facilities to go home originated in Germany, according to Tomoka Sugino, the 56-year-old head of Pokapoka no Mori, a nonprofit organization that runs the cafe. Learning that such bus stops installed at dementia care facilities had helped residents trying to go home relax while they waited for a bus, Sugino recalled feeling that supporting them with a gentle lie was a wonderful approach. Although no residents live at the cafe, it received a bus stop slated to be scrapped from Toyohashi Rail Road Co. and set it up in 2021 as the cafe’s symbol. As the initiative gained attention, Toyohashi Rail Road received a number of requests for cooperation from care facilities. The company has provided similar bus stops to 15 facilities so far. The firm said it has received words of gratitude, with some facilities saying that patients often feel that their feelings are being acknowledged when staff suggest waiting for the bus together, helping them calm down. There are concerns about telling untruths to people with dementia. But Keiko Akagawa, an official at Toyohashi Rail Road, said this initiative “provides care for people with dementia and reduces burdens for caregivers.” She added, “We hope to continue providing bus stops to facilities.” Aichi no Mori, a group home for the elderly in Toyohashi, is one of the facilities that has experienced positive effects after installing a mock bus stop and a bench in June in collaboration with Toyohashi Rail Road. Around 10 residents, including those who go for walks, visit the bus stop every day, with some visiting as many as three times a day. “Residents go back to their rooms when we suggest that they return later since the bus is not coming. Some even forget that they were waiting for a bus,” said Hiromi Nishiguchi, the 64-year-old manager of the group home. The initiative to install bus stops where buses never arrive is now spreading across the country with the support of various bus companies. At the Anki cafe, children who have heard about the bus stop gather, fostering cross-generational exchanges with people with dementia. “The bus stop has also become a place (for a variety of people),” Sugino said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
