[(Title)] Ministry to roll out project pairing dementia patients with volunteer supporters.

The welfare ministry plans to launch a project in fiscal 2019 to provide better aid to dementia patients by matching them with volunteer supporters, informed sources said Sunday.

知情人士周日表示，日本社会福利部计划在2019年启动一个项目，通过与志愿者相匹配，为痴呆患者提供更好的援助。

The project will include providing subsidies to coordinators that connect dementia patients and their families with supporters, who would, for instance, tag along when they go out or do casual exercises with them.

该项目将包括向将痴呆病人及其家庭与支持者联系起来的协调员提供补贴，例如，他们在外出或与他们一起做临时练习时将沿途贴上标签。

The ministry plans to earmark necessary funds in its budget request for the year that begins next April, the sources said.

消息人士称，该部计划在明年4月开始的预算申请中拨出必要的资金。

Prefectural governments will be in charge of the project. The ministry is considering allowing them to outsource it to local municipalities.

该项目将由县政府负责。该部正在考虑允许他们将它外包给当地市政当局。

Anyone can become a dementia supporter after learning knowledge of the disease through training programs held across the country.

任何人都可以成为痴呆症患者的支持者，通过全国各地举办的培训课程，了解该疾病的知识。

Introduced in 2005 by the health ministry to raise awareness about dementia, some 10.3 million people were registered as dementia supporters as of the end of June. They use orange wristbands as a symbol for dementia support.

卫生部于2005年推出，以提高对痴呆症的认识，截至6月底，约有1030万人登记为痴呆症患者志愿者，他们使用橙色腕带作为痴呆症志愿者的象征。

Although the number of supporters has been increasing, many of them have been inactive. The ministry expects the project to create more opportunities for supporters.

尽管志愿者的数量有所增加，但其中许多人无事可做，卫生部期望该项目为支援者创造更多机会。

Support for patients in the early stages of dementia helps to prevent their conditions from worsening rapidly.

对痴呆早期患者的帮助有助于防止他们的病情迅速恶化。

There were some 4.62 million dementia patients in Japan as of 2012, according to an estimate by the ministry.

据卫生部估计，截至2012年，日本约有462万痴呆症患者。

The number is projected to increase to some 7 million in 2025.

预计到2025年，这一数字将增至700万。