We Are Tomodachi Spring / Summer 2018

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6“Apple CEO Tim Cook gave me a friendly hug, saying, ‘You really inspire me.’ I told him, ‘I want you to make the iPhone more user-friendly for seniors.’ People in Silicon Valley are passionate over gender and ethnic diversity, but have you overlooked the senior women like me?” Eighty-three-year-old iPhone game app developer Masako Wakamiya exudes cheerfulness. “Curiosity makes me jump quickly to try new things,” she says. “I don’t make walls to shut out unknown worlds.” Personal computers were becoming popular when Wakamiya retired from a major bank at the age of 60. Sensing computers’ great possibilities, she lost no time in purchasing one for herself. As she started to use her computer, Wakamiya discovered that she could encounter and interact with a wide variety of people. “At the age of 60 my world expanded—I got wings!” Wanting to share the world of computers with seniors, Wakamiya got involved in activities that included hosting a personal computer class for them. It always seemed to Wakamiya that few smartphone games were designed with seniors in mind. But she was over 80 when she got the idea of developing iPhone game apps herself. “I wanted to make games that would allow us seniors to defeat even young people on the basis of our knowledge―games that are different from the competitive ones that require quick reflexes. I bought Game App Developer in Her 80sOpens ICT World for Fellow SeniorsAt the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2017, Wakamiya talked with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the relationship between seniors and ICT.Series: Japanese Individuals Contributing Worldwide