Héctor García, author of the international bestseller Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, has joined The 12th Asian Conference on Education & International Development (ACEID2026), The 16th Asian Conference on Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences (ACP2026), and The 12th Asian Conference on Aging & Gerontology (AGen2026) panel titled ‘Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond’.
Originally from Spain, Mr García worked at CERN in Switzerland before moving to Japan, where he wrote the international bestseller Xcentric Culture: A Geek in Japan and The Magic of Japan: Secret Places and Life-Changing Experiences. He will be joined by Lowell Sheppard of the Never Too Late Academy & IAFOR, Japan, to discuss both their unique personal and professional experiences with community-building in Japan.
To participate in ACEID/ACP/AGen2026 as an audience member, please register for the conference via the conference website.
The keynote presentation will also be available for IAFOR Members to view online. To find out more, please visit the IAFOR Membership page.
Speaker Biography
Héctor García
Author, Japan
Héctor García was born in Spain and worked at CERN in Switzerland before moving to Japan, where he has lived for over 21 years. During his fifteen years in Tokyo’s IT industry, he wrote the international bestseller Xcentric Culture: A Geek in Japan (2008) and later The Magic of Japan: Secret Places and Life-Changing Experiences (2020). He is also the co-author of the global hit Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life (2016), which has been translated into 70 languages. Notably, Ikigai holds the distinction of being the most translated book ever originally written in Spanish. To date, he has published ten books on Japanese culture.
Abstract
Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
As Asia and the wider world confront rapidly aging populations, a pressing interdisciplinary question emerges: What makes life not only long, but happy, connected, and meaningful in its later stages? This group of distinguished panellists will share their perspectives on how community environments shape emotional well-being, psychological resilience, and functional independence well into advanced age. Drawing on research centred in Japan’s super-aging society, the panel explores how community-driven structures such as moai (模合) groups, neighbourhood support networks, exercise rituals, festivals, and intergenerational spaces directly contribute to late-life happiness. And how education, in the form of continued learning, teaching, mentoring, and curiosity, can help sustain life-long purpose and emotional and mental vitality.
The discussion will highlight the interplay between psychology, behaviour, purpose, and social connection. The panellists will show how these factors collectively influence a healthy lifespan by integrating perspectives from gerontology, psychology, behavioural science, education, and development studies. The session will offer insights into why older adults thrive in environments where belonging is strong, relationships are deep, and lifelong learning is encouraged, and how purpose and social identity protect against loneliness and cognitive decline. The panel will specifically discuss how lessons from Japan can inform policy, community design, education, and behavioural interventions across cultures, where long life is lived richly.
