NPO Kizunamail Project ~ With the power of reassuring and encouraging messages, making the pregnancy and parenting journey a joyful experience. ~

Amid the accelerating domestic trend toward nuclear families and the weakening of community ties, the Kizunamail Project (referred to as Organization), a non-profit organization, aims to prevent parents' social isolation by text-messaging the essential parenting information. Their daily messages are designed to encourage parents and families during pregnancy and child-rearing, and to provide essential information on the process of child growth as well as parenting advice. This small project - started within a couple, eventually led to collaboration with municipalities and medical institutions - has so far reached out and supported more than 200,000 parents through their text message.

"Wishing that Kizunamail readers can imagine their fetus baby growing everyday through the text message"

Kizunamail is an idea that Representative Director Mr. Oshima came up with after the birth of their children. And, they established it as a business. Now, it has become content with various possibilities.
Mr. Oshima, who was an editor at a publishing company, married Ms. Yukari Matsumoto, also an editor. Mr. Oshima came across a book called The Pregnancy Journal, which was a gift from an American friend for his pregnant wife. While reading this book, which introduces the growth of the fetus day by day, they thought that it would be fun to read about the growth of the fetus every day through email.
On the other hand, at the time, they were also overwhelmed about becoming parents all at once. In the course of his research, Mr. Oshima has come to realize that, in many cases, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting - which are supposed to be joyous experience - have become tough and difficult place due to the parents' social isolation, postpartum depression, which possibly lead to the infant maltreatment. And it's said they are possibly caused by the rapid acceleration of nuclear family households. Mr. Oshima thought that "parents' social isolation" could be prevented by continuously delivering messages to mothers and fathers who are raising children alone in an environment with no connection to the local community. Then, he hoped to convey to parents the peace of mind, connection, and enjoyment that can be found in childbirth and parenting. Subsequently, in 2010, Mr. Oshima launched the Kizunamail Project. The organization did not adopt a system of charging for their service or pursuing advertisers, which was the mainstream business model at the time for email-based businesses. They then followed their dreams and sought the best form of business that would benefit society and people, and established a non-profit organization.

Collaboration with municipalities and medical institutions to prevent isolation from the community.

The basic contents of the text messages are carefully edited from the very beginning. The messages are designed to ensure the safety and health of the fetus and children, on a day-to-day basis. To reduce the anxiety of parents, our expert team - including family doctors, pediatricians, obstetricians, and nutritionists – supervise and brush up the content of the messages.
In addition to such basic content, about 30 municipalities with which the organization is currently working distribute local information about topics such as vaccinations, medical checkups, and childcare support facilities. Mr. Oshima himself strongly felt the importance of such information during pregnancy and child-rearing. He also felt the importance of connecting with the community, as he raised his children. The text messages via LINE and email services connect families and the community, ensuring that mothers and fathers who are pregnant or raising children should not be isolated from the community. And, so, these messages also serve as an invisible safety net, by communicating necessary administrative services and support at the time of need. Furthermore, by supporting the building of community ties, they aim to prevent and eliminate social issues such as "parents' social isolation", "postpartum depression," and "infant maltreatment" that may lie ahead.
Mr. Oshima says, "My goal from the beginning was not only to provide something fun to read but also to do something that would help to resolve a social issue that is hardly visible to the public."

What they want to convey in their messages is the importance of communication during pregnancy and child-rearing.

Text messages also aim to provoke communication among family members, such as mothers, fathers, etc.
"By including a single phrase that allows people to imagine the size of a baby growing, such as, 'A fetus baby is about the size of your partner's two hands together,' creates communication with people who are in a relationship. I consider that initiation to be the most ideal."
In addition, all text messages delivered begin with, "To you today," and the word "mom," are kept to a minimum.
They aim to change the parenting bias in Japan that places the parenting burden on the mother alone - where there is still a strong stereotype that parenting should be done by the mother at home - and to encourage mothers, fathers, and families as a whole to enjoy the growth of the fetus baby, and be involved in the process together.
"In most cases, the first readers in family are pregnant women. But, since we started, we have always wanted not only them, but also fathers and, hopefully, the whole family, to read (the messages)."

Staff from diverse backgrounds work together for the best interests of children.

Meanwhile, the "parents' socially isolated" situation has become more apparent with the spread of COVID-19, in the past few years.
"In the survey on their readers, about one-third of respondents said they felt alone in raising their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some said they couldn't leave their domiciles because they were so tightly locked up, which suggests that it was a harsh situation."
Due to such a situation, the organization received gratitude messages from readers for their support, as they received Kizunamail during their difficult times. This made staff member Ms. Karake once again realize the needs of this project in today's society.
"Even if the message is only text, I feel that we are connected to our readers. I believe that it is important to be connected not only with strong ties but also with weak gentle ties."
The organization's staff is diverse, with some in the middle of raising their own children, some being single or childfree. Although the staff members come from different backgrounds, they are all committed to support those who play significant roles to take care of children in an indirect way, our core value is the "best interest of the child," according to Ms. Karake. "Everyone here is enthusiastic about what we do, and they actively exchange opinions such as, ‘it's better to arrange this kind of message', or ‘how about this kind of an approach."
The staff cooperates to create an environment where everyone is motivated to work. "I think it's important for people of all backgrounds to be able to feel the value in their work," says Mr. Oshima.

Multilingual and Plain Japanese version for foreign residents living in Japan

Mr. Oshima says that it has been their goal since the establishment of the organization to translate Kizunamail into multilingual in various ways.
Nearly 20,000 children whose parents are either or both from abroad are reportedly born every year in Japan, and this number is expected to increase in the future. For those who are expecting or giving birth in a foreign land (Japan), pregnancy contents have already been translated and distributed in English, as well. Kizunamail also has been translated into Indonesian and Thai.
However, it is difficult to translate the contents into all relevant languages. In March 2022, they released "Kizunamail Yasashii Nihongo (Kizunamail Plain Japanese)" together with a team of doctors, and Japanese language teachers, to deliver Kizunamail to more foreign residents.
The organization is further expanding its range of readers, and Mr. Oshima would like to see their projects being adopted into government programs in the future. "The value of any tool varies depending on the person who uses it. The organization aims to utilize text messaging itself as a ‘weak-tie safety net'. We call on the government and local municipalities to make use of the ‘weak-tie safety net,' as a new type of social safety net."
"We would like to realize a society in which everyone may welcome the birth of a new life, and raise children with irreplaceable feelings". The "weak tie" accomplished by text messages carrying such wishes will continue to support parents in the future.

*This article is based on information available at the time of the interview. For the latest information, please contact the organization directly.