It is predicted that by 2025, one in every five Japanese people over the age of 65 will be afflicted with dementia. Care for increasing dementia patients is urgent, but conditions for caregivers are harsh, and shortage of personnel is a serious problem. How can we give our loved ones the care they deserve?Naoko Tsumura, professor at Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, embraces “Validation”, a method to empathize and foster better communication with dementia patients. In nursing homes that have introduced Validation, the relationships between caregivers and families, and the patients, have slowly improved, providing new hope for all.