Ever since the mobile game Pokémon Sleep hit the scene, its adorable and fun gameplay, centered around snoozing, has been a hit with players. Many even use the game's sleep quality insights as a handy guide for their own sleep health.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) officially announced a collaboration with the mobile game Pokémon Sleep yesterday (June 26th) as part of its "Smart Life Project" health initiative. For this special partnership, Pikachu and Snorlax, sporting cute sleep caps, have been appointed as "Sleep Support Ambassadors" to jointly promote better sleep health for the nation.
To mark this collaboration, The Pokémon Company's COO, Takato Utsunomiya, accompanied by Pikachu and Snorlax in their sleep caps, paid a visit to Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Shigemaro Fukuoka, for a promotional event.
Terumasa Matsuoka, Head of the MHLW's Health Division, also shed light on Japan's current sleep situation. He noted that Japan consistently ranks as "one of the world's most sleep-deprived nations," with shorter average sleep times leading to various health issues. Matsuoka also outlined the MHLW's "Healthy Japan 21" project and introduced policies like the "Sleep Health Guidelines," aiming to boost public awareness of sleep's importance through these initiatives.
(We previously reported that Pokémon Sleep released survey results on average sleep times across seven major playing countries, including Japan. While Japan ranked last, the data showed that "the more you play, the more you sleep.")
Addressing the younger generation's indifference to sleep issues, the appointment of Pikachu and Snorlax as "Sleep Support Ambassadors" aims to spark public interest and discussion through these beloved and familiar characters. Matsuoka added, "Through this collaboration, we hope to further promote the importance of sleep and help citizens develop better health habits."
Takato Utsunomiya, COO of The Pokémon Company, also unveiled several concrete future plans. These include designing sleep awareness posters for display in schools, hospitals, and other locations, as well as participating in the annual "Kids Kasumigaseki Tour Day" event to host interactive sleep workshops for children.
He stated, "We hope to 'gamify sleep' and foster more positive feelings about it. Moving forward, we will continue to collaborate with the MHLW to promote long-term, impactful health awareness campaigns."
This partnership truly highlights the importance of Pokémon Sleep for health, with even the Japanese government officially teaming up to promote it. If you care about your sleep, why not give the game a try?
