Fureai Kippu, clumsily translatable as ‘ticket for a caring relationship’, is an electronic currency that banks your altruism, converting an hour of labor helping an elderly person into a credit that is held in an online clearing house and can then be drawn upon when you need it yourself – or passed on to someone you know.
First trialed in 1995 Fureai Kippu is increasingly accepted across Japan. Over 370 institutions are accepting the new currency and more are signing up. But perhaps the most exciting long-term implication of Fureai Kippu is a future world where pure self-interest is replaced as a country’s main social motivator by the rewards of helping others.
Analysis:
With Japan’s aging adult population rising, Fureai Kippu is an incredibly clever way of providing care for those in need. This goodwill ticket concept seems like it could be easily adopted in other countries. It’s surprising to learn that Japan has been operating with this care-ticket system since 1995. It would be interesting to study a trial of a similar system here in America. It would probably have to be conducted within a small city.
“Turning Goodwill into Currency.” Atlas of the Future, 10 May 2017, atlasofthefuture.org/project/fureai-kippu-currency/.
