We would like to create the optimum environment for patients and their families by connecting a variety of industries, including hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, governments and businesses, similar to the neurons that connect the body’s organs to transmit information. Our corporate name reflects that idea. At the age of one, my daughter became severely disabled after she had influenza-associated encephalopathy, resulting in encephalitis. The incident catalyzed the formation of our business. We had no idea which hospital could provide appropriate rehabilitation for her, how to apply for a disability certificate, or how to apply for administrative support. We were completely at a loss. I want my daughter to feel that she has lived a good life after I die. However, I felt that Japan lacks a system for supporting healthcare and nursing care. My daughter is not the only one. Anyone can become physically disabled in an unexpected accident. A person might develop dementia when they are older.
Nothing will change if people simply wait for others to act. I decided to make our community into a place where anyone can live without anxiety. I opened a dispensing pharmacy in 2002, leveraging my long career as an executive at a pharmaceutical company. I tried to create a health consultancy that provided a range of information at one place about the prevention of diseases, pre-diseases, treatment, suppression of recurrence and application for certification for required long-term care.
For example, I will write a letter of referral to a hospital with neurology and dermatology departments for a customer if they are concerned about a skin disease and are suspected to have shingles. Then, I will report the medical history of the patient to a physician and connect the two parties. We have established a network with medical institutes little by little to facilitate this service. Now, the national government is promoting this health-supporting pharmacy system that we started 17 years ago. However, as pharmacotherapy professionals, we discovered limitations to exclusively drug-based treatment, because we take our business very seriously. We started to develop products and services from the perspective of pharmacists through collaboration with other industries, wanting to intervene in earlier stages of disorders. Examples include a pillow for alleviating stiff shoulders and headaches developed in collaboration with a large-scale bedding manufacturer and a researcher specialized in fatigue medical science, as well as support for reducing leg swelling made with a large-scale sporting gear manufacturer. We also cooperate with many different companies and local governments to create communities focusing on health and medical care. Overseas research data indicates that the incidence of dementia decreases by managing lifestyle-related diseases. We want to ensure longevity and wellness in society by establishing a system for maintaining health with optimized healthcare, diet, lifestyle, exercise and sleep. I believe that we can convert healthcare and nursing into new, appealing industries by combining them with other industries.
In some countries, healthcare is already an industry. For example, people can live at a nursing home in Holland that has a small supermarket on the first floor and apartments on the second floor if they are at least 55 years old, even if they have dementia or last-stage cancer. Visit grandfather or grandmother while going to the supermarket. This idea is very new to Japanese people. I want to build facilities where horses and people live together in nature in Japan by adding horse therapy to nursing homes. I would like to open a restaurant that serves health-conscious meals within the facilities. I want to increase options without taking a middle-of-the-road approach. I would like to convey the idea of pursuing happiness together in the process of forming something tangible. However, having both the idea and profitability are required simultaneously, that is, a profitable industry is needed at the core to realize an idea. The IGT Clinic is a good example. It is located within the special international medical care zone at Rinku Town, on the shore opposite to Kansai International Airport. It serves as a cancer center, providing special treatment called embolotherapy, which involves the blockage of arteries leading to cancerous cells for intentional cellular necrosis. The center exports this therapeutic system to other countries mainly in Asia, admits overseas patients and trains surgeons.
Industries cannot advance further in Japan, where the birth rate is falling and society is aging. However, it is possible to create new, attractive industries by combining the healthcare and nursing care of Japan with other industries. I envision that we will build a foundation for developing such new industries globally. To achieve this, I believe that the most important factors are having people who mutually empathize about the methods of providing optimal healthcare for people around the world, the creation of businesses that people appreciate worldwide, and the materialization of happiness for many people. People tend to admire someone who shares the same values.
This is not appropriate for organizations. An organization will permit diverse, interesting developments if many different people or businesses gather, as long as they share the same values. The results could transform healthcare and nursing care, and broaden their appeal.
