Monday, October 16, 2023 | The Japan Times | 7

sustainable japan

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Teijin cares: Group advances personal, societal health
Unraveling Japanesecompanies
HIROKO NAKATACONTRIBUTING WRITER

Though Teijin Limited long has been
known primarily as a maker of synthetic
fibers, its health care business centered on
the pharmaceutical and home health carefields has growth potential in Japan’s rapidly graying population as it continues totap its motivation to work for the benefit
of society.
Teijin’s long-term corporate vision, “To be
a company that supports the society of the
future,” applies not only to its well-known
materials segment, but also to its otherbusiness pillar, health care, while emphasizing that the company addresses issues ofpatients, families, and communities in needof more support. And although the company
currently is undergoing restructuring andreforms to improve its overall profitability,that vision won’t change.
“The long-term vision leads to sustainability,” Naohiko Moriyama, a senior executive
officer and member of the board for Teijin,
said in a recent interview, part of a monthly
series featuring sustainable Japanese companies by Naonori Kimura, a partner for thefirm Industrial Growth Platform Inc.
Teijin’s more than 100-year-old history
started when it was founded in 1918. It firstgrew as a manufacturer of rayon fibers andthen expanded and diversified its businessfields in the 1970s. Today, its businesses covera wide range of materials, from aramid-fiber
products to resins to carbon-fiber products,
and its health care segment manufacturesand sells pharmaceuticals and provides medical devices that patients use at home alongwith related services.
Moriyama stressed the significance ofthe health care business because it supports
people and contributes to society. “Healthcare is a business for people. It helps them,enriches their lives and helps them recoverfrom illness and lead a healthy life in society,”he said.
He said the health care business brings
various benefits not only for other people,
but also for Teijin’s employees themselves. In
the home health care business, the employees often get to meet patients and healthcare professionals and hear them saying
they are happy to get the medical devices
and services they really need. “Hearing one‘Thank you’ simply makes you feel content.
You often get energy by realizing that yourwork actually helps people. The more you
feel you work for people, the more you areempowered, reflecting our corporate mottoof ‘Empowering Our People,’” Moriyama said.
The health care business has been often
intertwined with the materials segment in
the company’s history. Teijin, which in the
1950s had already started to study materials
using polymer chemistry, in the 1970s usedthat technology to develop an industrial
oxygen-enriching membrane. Using themembrane, it manufactured a prototype
domestic oxygen concentrator in 1979. In
1982, it entered the HOT (home oxygentherapy) market by providing patients with
an improved oxygen concentrator, leading to
its position at the top of the domestic market
for such services.
Teijin now has hundreds of specialists
who can take care of patients 24 hours a day,as well as over a thousand sales employees
in its health care business, supporting morethan 500,000 patients at home and abroad.
“This is an example of how development of
the materials business leads to health carebusiness,” Moriyama said.
The company’s oxygen concentrators,
combined with HOT services, have met
the demand, improving patients’ qualityof life and chances of survival. When Teijinentered the HOT market, the potential waslarge because there was demand for homeoxygen concentrators from pulmonary
tuberculosis patients who had been hospitalized for years. HOT enabled such patients

Naohiko Moriyama HIROMICHI MATONO

to take care of themselves at home. Demand
for these services grew as the number ofpatients with breathing problems — technically called, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease — increased as the population aged,
Moriyama explained.
The market was also supported by thestart of medical insurance reimbursementfor HOT in 1985 and by the company’sefforts to operate a nationwide direct sales
system — not basically through agents —so that sales staffers could hear as many
patients’ voices as possible. In 1991, Teijindeveloped a monitoring system connectedto oxygen concentrators installed at patients’
homes, enabling sales offices to check on thedevices’ operating conditions.
The company later introduced retaining
because readers are familiar with “CPAP”
device for sleep-disordered breathing, which

6 Six
Popular French restaurant on small Okinawa isle

became another market-leading device inJapan.
But working for people and society does
not always contribute to high profitability.
Also, the business model for services such as
HOT is vulnerable to rising labor costs amid
labor shortages. Teijin said it made its best
possible efforts to reduce the prices of its
devices and enriching its services. The introduction of the remote monitoring system
for the home medical devices at the earlystage of the business is another example ofits efforts, it said.
Teijin reported that its operating profit for
the fiscal year that ended in March slid to¥12.9 billion, down 70.9% from a year earlier,although sales grew 10.0% to ¥1.02 trillion.
The company said the reasons included a¥20.4 billion operating deficit in the materials segment due to labor shortages, plus

MAIKO MURAOKACONTRIBUTING WRITERTAKEO TERAOCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Situated in the island of Kouri, the French
restaurant 6 Six (pronounced “shisu,” like in
French), is part of the village of Nakijin in thenorth of the island of Okinawa. Along with
its cuisine, its location has made it a hot topic
among gourmets throughout Japan.
Owner-chef Hiroyuki Kosugi moved tothe area, his wife’s home region, in 2018 after
closing the doors of his restaurant in Nagoya,
where reservations had filled up as muchas eight months in advance, to launch 6 Six,
which affords an ocean view from every seat.
After spending the first two years in thered, the COVID-19 pandemic changed his situation completely. More and more Japanese,
unable to travel overseas, went to Okinawa
instead. Many opted to eat at 6 Six — and therestaurant gained a reputation through social
media.
“I aim for cuisine that won’t be outdone by
the ocean view,” he said. “With everything
I make, I start with a sort of fantasy vision— what if there were a dish like this? — andthen bring it to life.”
At first glance it may look eccentric, but,
as Kosugi explained, he has a reason: “What’s
there before my eyes is the sea, so even a porcupinefish can become a ‘bowl.’”

His appetizer of daikon radish sprinkledwith colorful vegetable powders is a taste
sensation, with the vegetable flavors spreading in layers over the taste buds. About 70%
of his ingredients are local products. Kosugi
said it took him over a year to persuade farmers to grow the ingredients he consideredideal and to get fishermen to catch the typesof fish he wanted.
“Five years after moving here, I’m still an
outsider,” he said. “But there’s no point inrunning a restaurant here unless I have good
relations with the local people.” Incorporating local foods like jimami tofu and mozuku
into French cuisine, Kosugi is working
toward a synthesis with Okinawa.

DENNY TAMAKIGOVERNOR OF OKINAWA

HIRONARI KUDA
MAYOR OF NAKIJIN

I am honored that therestaurant 6 Six has been
selected as part of the listfor Destination Restaurant2023.
The scenery of the island of Kouri,
embraced by the clear sea and blue skies,
is an important treasure of Okinawa Prefecture, and the dishes prepared by chef
Hiroyuki Kosugi using local ingredients inthis environment will allow you to feel the
climate and beauty of Okinawa.
I sincerely hope that this award willencourage many people to visit the island of
Kouri and the rest of Okinawa Prefecture.

I am very happy toannounce that the restaurant 6 Six has been
selected for the Destination Restaurant 2023 list.
Nakijin is home to the Nakijin Castle
Ruins, a U.N. World Heritage Site, and theisland has a colorful natural environmentof green forests, blue ocean and whitesandy beaches.
I hope people can come and enjoy chef
Hiroyuki Kosugi’s spectacular cuisine,
which is said to be as good as the locallygrown ingredients nurtured in nature andthe colorful scenery.

NAONORI KIMURA
INDUSTRIAL GROWTH PLATFORM INC.
(IGPI) PARTNER

The Teijin groupaims “to be acompany that
supports the society of the future”
and develops
businesses thatprovide for the
future in various
areas of health care with its vision forpatients.
Especially with its home oxygen
treatments, Teijin has contributed to
improving the quality of life and survival rates of patients as a leader in
the industry since it started to sell thefirst such equipment in Japan in 1982.
Although home oxygen treatments
are becoming common today, I understand that Teijin in the beginning had
a number of problems with launching
the business due to various regulations
and customs. But the group has tenaciously created innovation for patientsby working together as one.
Oxygen treatments involve morethan just providing equipment. The
business is a comprehensive service
supported by many workers who carefor patients on site. If Teijin focused
only on profits, it probably could findother ways of doing this. But as Naohiko Moriyama emphasized, “It would
have generated profits, but not a feeling that your job is worthwhile.” Teijin
has established a sustainable businessmodel that includes patients, society
and employees.
Japan still has a number of issues tosolve in the area of health care, but I
believe the group will continue to create plenty of businesses and services
for people in the future.

Organization strives to empower
women in society, the workplace
ESG/SDGs

Address
6 Six
499-1, Kori, Kunigamigun, Nakijin-son,
Okinawa.
https://six-kouri.com

troubles in American and European production plants and a slowdown in the Chinese
economy. Sales in the health care businessalso declined as the replacement of its major
pharmaceutical products with generic alternatives moved faster than expected.
Looking at the results, Teijin announced
a set of profitability improvement plansthat include aiming to improve the operating income of its aramid and composites
businesses in the materials segment by ¥30
billion ($200 million) this fiscal year. The
company said it was considering the possibility of withdrawing from unprofitablebusinesses when certain positive changes
laid out in the plans are not recognized. The
plans also aim to reduce fixed costs in thebusiness by ¥5 billion by fiscal year 2025,
and utilize its platforms, such as strong relationships with health care professionals andpatients, capabilities in patients’ support,
including call centers and home-visit nursing care, that the company has cultivated
to expand to new devices and services plus
license pharmaceuticals for rare and intractable diseases.
Moriyama, referring to its vision to workon things significant to society even if shortterm profitability is not necessarily high,admitted that businesses focusing on solving societal issues often faced criticism inside
the company. “But I believe that we should
keep addressing issues facing society as awhole and forming close connections withthe people involved as our corporate DNA,”he said.
Part of the reason for conducting such asustainability-oriented enterprise is that it
is educational for employees. It also develops long-term relationships with doctors,
hospitals and other elements of society.
“Of course, business management basedon return on invested capital is important. But I also emphasize what we do forpatients and believe it will enhance thecorporate value of ourselves in long-term
vision when society finds value in it,”Moriyama said.

The Japanese Women’s Leadership Initiative is based in Boston and aims to empower
women in Japan to play leadership roles inbringing positive and innovative changes insociety. It has provided executive leadershipprograms to more than 160 aspiring women
NPO executives and social entrepreneurs fornearly 20 years.
“Even two decades ago, there were
women who were striving to make changes
in the society, but they were like small dots
scattered across the country. Through oureffort to empower and connect them, thedots gradually became lines and now that
we have so many lines, they are forming a
big waving surface that creates movements,”
said Atsuko Fish, who has represented the
JWLI since founding it in 2003, in a recent
interview with The Japan Times.
In July, Fish became the chairperson of the
JWLI and authorized Kozue Sawame, a former program director, to represent it. After
finishing her undergraduate studies at Hosei
University and master’s programs in the
United States, Sawame worked for a nonprofit that focused on supporting domestic
violence survivors in Boston, where she met
Fish, who was serving as its board chair.
But it was after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, several years after they had
met, when they strengthened their bondsof trust through the intensive activities of
the Japanese Disaster Relief Fund-Boston.
The fund was launched right after the earthquake by the Fish Family Foundation, which
Fish and her husband, Larry, established in
1999 to contribute to society with the spirit

Kozue Sawame, president of the Japanese
Women’s Leadership Initiative JWLIPAGE: 7of giving.
“We worked together as volunteers nightand day to raise money for the disaster-hit
area as quickly as possible and succeeded inraising approximately $1 million to support
the recovery in Tohoku,” Sawame recalled. In
2012, she joined the Fish Family foundation,
which administers JWLI programs.
One of the things Sawame found inspiring about Fish was her ability to make swift
decisions and take action.
“For example, Fish told us about her idea
to launch a scholarship. In four months, we
had already made an announcement about
the scholarship and started accepting applications, and in 12 months four students wereselected to go to universities on our scholarship,” Sawame said.
Behind Fish’s agility is her sense of urgency
in making Japanese society more “open, positive and inclusive.” Japan’s postwar period
has seen the establishment of democracy
and male-centered collective efforts aimed ataccelerating economic growth.
“It was successful in getting Japan’s economy back on its feet again. But there werepeople who were left behind in the process,”she explained. “Though peace and democracy were gained, there has been the lack ofeffort in the protection of individual rights
and realization of equality.”
Then, after decades of stagnation, and theGreat Recession, the coronavirus pandemic
hit, making life miserable for those who werealready vulnerable.
But some women leaders began to shedlight on the social issues. The Fish Family
Foundation, aside from its training programs,
provides an opportunity to recognize such
women through the Champion of Change
Japan Award, established in 2017. Fish took
inspiration from the Champion of ChangeAward founded by former U.S. President
Barack Obama to recognize those who contribute to their communities. Fish was one of
the winners of the award in 2013.
“There are many role models of womenleaders who are making extraordinary contributions to the Japanese society,” Fish said,emphasizing that this hopeful fact should
be shared with the public to encourage
more people to join or support the activities of such leaders and enlighten younger
generations.
The seventh round of the Champion of
Change Japan Award will be held in Tokyo’s

Atsuko Toko Fish, chair of the Japanese
Women’s Leadership Initiative JWLI

Bunkyo Ward on Dec. 12. Screenings areunderway to select five winners, who willattend the ceremony where the grand prize
winner will be announced.
“There have been about 200 recommendations from all corners of Japan. The candidates’ ages vary from early 20s to mid-70s. In
terms of the lengths of their activities, those
who have been continuing their activities formore than 10 years marked the highest ratio,
followed by those with five to nine years ofhistory. These two groups together compriseabout 60% to 70%,” Sawame said, highlighting these women’s expertise, experience andcommitment. The ceremony is open to the
public by advance reservation.
As the second-generation representative of the JWLI, Sawame has high hopes for
women leaders to promote their activities,
taking advantage of the adversity posed
by Japan’s low 125th-place showing in theWorld Economic Forum’s 146-country gender equality rankings this year – the worst
result ever.
“I am confident that they will transfer crisis into opportunity,” she said. What drives
the new leader is the privilege of witnessing someone’s growth. “It is truly rewarding
to see women leaders transform and foster
collaborations that drive meaningful socialchange,” Sawame said.
This section, “Sustainable Japan,” features
issues related to the environment and asustainable society while highlighting thesatoyama activities ofcompanies and otherorganizations. For more
information, see https://sustainable.japantimes.
com