Femtech Players Map Japan 2023 Latest Edition (vol.2)
*Please be sure to clearly state "source: Femtech Community Japan" when quoting, reprinting, or reproducing the content of this article.
*Please see the original version in Japanse here.
https://note.com/femtechjapan/n/neeaddbfb0c02
Continuing from the first part, we report on the latest edition of the Femtech player map in Japan for 2023 and the trends in the Femtech-related areas.
Also visit vol.1 here.
Femtech Players Map Japan 2023 Latest Edition (vol.1)
Trends in Peripheral Areas of Femtech
In Japan, Femtech, Femcare, women's healthcare and wellness, and other measures and solutions for issues related to women's health challenges and gaps have attracted the attention of many people and media. This is also pointed out as an issue behind the lack of progress in the promotion of women's activities, and is considered to be deeply related to the gender gap and diversity in the workplace.
Femcare and other non-tech services are not included in this Femtech Players Map, as they are numerous and cover a wide range of fields. Here vol.2 section introduces major trends and case studies in the peripheral areas of Femtech.
1. Women's Healthcare and Gender Gap
In the 2023 edition of the Gender Gap Index, Japan's overall ranking was 125th, down 9 places from the previous year. This indicates that Japan is the least developed country in terms of gender equality. The Gender Gap Index measures the imbalance between men and women in four areas: economy, education, politics, and health, and Japan's lowest ranking is in the area of economy and politics. This indicates that women's labor participation, wages, management ratios, and political participation rates are still low.
Source: Asahi Shimbun SDGs ACTION! (Source: Global Gender Gap Report 2023)
In Japan, as in many developed countries, medical services and educational opportunities are provided as part of the social system, but in recent years, the underlying gender gap in women's health support has been drawing attention as a background for the lack of progress in economic and political empowerment.
One of the health issues unique to women is the impact of hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle on their physical condition, which manifests itself in a variety of symptoms such as PMS and abdominal pain. Furthermore, women's hormones fluctuate greatly over the span of a lifetime, and the degree of hormonal change associated with aging is much greater in women than in men, and this is manifested in symptoms such as menopausal disorders. It has been pointed out that the current Japanese social system, culture, and corporate system do not sufficiently take into account these differences between men and women.
The topic of the gender gap in supporting women's health and its impact on economic activity in Japan was discussed at “Femcare Initiative Roundtable Meeting” held at the Nikkei BP Research Institute last year. Femtech Community Japan also attended the event. For further information, please visit the following link.
Nikkei BP Beyond Health: Supporting women's health is fundamental to national development - Promoting Femcare through industry-academia-government collaboration (*Japanese).
Experts participating in the discussion
Shogo Fujii, Chief Researcher, Nikkei BP Research Institute (moderator)
Yutaka Osuga, Chief Professor, Department of Women's Medicine and Obstetrics, The University of Tokyo Hospital
Harumi Masashi, Director, Health Promotion Division, Health and Medical Bureau, Kanagawa Prefecture
Maho Jinno, Senior Manager, Health Care Industry Division, Commerce and Service Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Tomoko Minagawa, Founder & CEO, Femtech Community Japan
Shigeru Taniguchi, Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer, Meiji
2. Women's Health Exhibitions and Expos
Words such as “Femtech” and “Femcare” began to appear in the media from around 2020, and in 2021 they became a candidate for the buzzword of the year in Japan.
Many exhibitions and expos have been held to provide opportunities to disseminate information on various trends, products, and services to a wider audience. Many of these exhibitions are not limited to Femtech itself (technology-related), but are also designed to expand awareness of women's health issues and to introduce a wide range of products and services, including women's healthcare, wellness, and beauty.
We hope that these exhibitions and EXPOs will help to increase awareness of women's health care and wellness, and that more advanced and innovative products and services will be introduced to the market in the future.
Femtech Fes! 2022 (fermata Corporation)
9 - 11 February 2024, @Roppongi Academyhills
https://hellofermata.com/pages/femtechfes2402
Held at Roppongi Academyhills under the theme of "Femtech Intersection to turn your taboos into excitement". The exhibition showcases Femtech products and services from around 200 companies from 33 countries and 6 regions, including the latest products that have not yet arrived in Japan.
Femtech Promotion Expo (DMM Event Technology)
6 - 13 October 2023, online
Over 170 exhibitors across various sectors will present several sessions and content such as menstruation, fertility, childcare, housework, work style, menopausal services, medical care, and financial services.
Femtech Tokyo (RX Japan)
20-22 October 2022, @Tokyo Big Sight
A wide range of 'Femtech' companies, not limited to technology, will gather under the theme of supporting women's 'health' and 'activity' in accordance with their life stages. Exhibit and disseminate a wide range of information on femcare and women's wellness.
Femtech /Femcare Japan (G-Place)
Many 'FemTech' companies, not only from the technology sector, exhibited under the theme of supporting women's 'health' and 'activity' at different stages of their lives. A wide range of information on femcare and women's wellness was presented.
https://femtech-japan.com/news/n230621/
3. Mentech (Men's Wellness)
There is a growing number of companies and new businesses related to Mentech (Men's Wellness), as represented by male infertility, both abroad and in Japan.
Mentech offers various services and products in Japan, including TENGA Men's Lupe (fertility test kit), Stork (fertility test kit), SuguCare (fertility test kit), Oops LOVE and Oops HAIR (ED and AGA treatment), Owen (male infertility), Dante (male infertility), AlphaMail (supplement D2C), Mechanogenic (metabolic risk diagnosed through fingertip blood collection), and Embox (AGA disease management application).
As with FemTech, it is believed that there is a customer need for Mentech that is "embarrassed" or "does not want to be known" to be using its services or products.
For more information on Mentech (Men's Wellness), please refer to Megumi Kimura, Director of Femtech Community Japan's note "[Femtech⑬ News] Introduction of services and products related to Mentech and Men's Wellness, and new progress"
4. Government action to support women's health
The need for policies to address social issues such as the promotion of women's success and the declining birth rate has also encouraged the government to take the initiative in expanding its efforts to solve women's healthcare issues. One of the government's initiatives is to promote Femtech.
On 5th June 2023, the Japanese Government introduced the Priority Policy on Women's Activities and Gender Equality 2023 (Women's Version of the Framework Policy) and is working towards boosting femtech.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry established the FemTech and Other Support Services Demonstration Project Subsidy in 2021 to support businesses that are developing and demonstrating FemTech products and services. Participating companies and results reports from previous demonstrations can be found here: https://www.femtech-projects.jp/
In March 2023, the Ministry of Health and Welfare established the National Centre for Women's Health to conduct research, education, and awareness-raising on women's health. It is expected that the spread of FemTech and other technologies will solve women's health problems and improve women's quality of life while promoting women's advancement in society.
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA285FF0Y3A320C2000000/
In addition to the above, the government is promoting policies such as the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Programme to support women's entrepreneurship.
As shown by the low gender gap index, Japanese society is still in the process of solving its problems. It is essential not only to implement government policies, but also to raise awareness in society as a whole and to involve the private sector in the industrial field, and the development of femtech products and services can help in this regard.
5. Gender Initiatives in Research Field
According to the McKinsey report, in 2022, investment in female-specific diseases will account for only 5% of total investment in pharmaceutical R&D and 1% excluding cancer. In the future, it is expected that the business impact and growing interest in medical areas such as diagnosis and treatment will expand beyond pharmaceutical and medical device companies and reach investors and related stakeholders.
In the research field, a new approach to research and development that incorporates perspectives and analyses of gender differences (biological and sociological sex differences) is attracting attention in the area of Gendered Innovations.
Overseas, public research institutions are applying for research grants, many peer-reviewed journals are making gender analysis mandatory, and in Japan, the Institute for Gendered Innovation was launched at Ochanomizu University in June 2022.
Collaboration between industry and academia is also expected to promote technology and innovation in the Femtech area.
Gendered Innovation Institute | Ochanomizu University (ocha.ac.jp)
What is Gendered Innovation?
Femtech Community Japan Member Companies
At Femtech Community Japan, we promote a community of member companies and experts, mainly companies involved in femtech and supporting women's healthcare. We organize monthly meet-up events, knowledge sessions with experts, and networking.
We promote the expansion of the Femtech sector by providing information on the latest developments in the field of Femtech and from Femtech companies, including our members.
List of Member Companies (in no particular order)
Think W-Wellness (Asahi Shimbun, Inc.)
https://www.asahi.com/w-wellness/
Asuka Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
https://www.aska-pharma.co.jp/
Astellas Pharma Inc.
https://www.astellas.com/jp/
Els Grand Care Academy, Inc.
https://feminityarch.com/
SUSTAINABLEME Inc.
https://sustainableme.co.jp/
Sunny Side Up Group, Inc.
https://ssug.co.jp/
Suluce Inc.
https://anypill.skinsia.clinic/
Sunshine City Inc.
https://sunshinecity.jp/
Joconne Corporation.
https://joconne.com/
Josanshi GLOBAL Inc.
https://josanshi-cafe.com/
Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co.
https://www.dai-ichi-life.co.jp/
Tenkodo Corporation
https://totonoeru.tenkodo.life/
Tokyu Land Corporation
https://www.tokyu-land.co.jp/
TRULY Co.
https://www.truly-japan.co.jp/
Toyota Tsusho corporation
https://www.toyota-tsusho.com/
vivola corporation
https://www.vivola.jp/
Femnication Project
https://www.instagram.com/femnicationpj__2022/
FUJIYAMA BRIDGE LAB Co.
http://fujiyamabl.com/
Flora Corporation
https://www.flora-tech.jp/
Mitsubishi Estate Co., LTD
https://www.mec.co.jp/
Request Plus Inc.
https://rq-plus.com/
Shibuya Startup Deck
https://shibuya-startup-deck.studio.site/
The Femtech Community Japan is looking for corporate members!
Our group gathers start-ups, large corporations, VCs, investors, universities, research institutions, medical and healthcare professionals, and media partners to share information on femtech-related initiatives, discuss current issues, and network for the future.
If you're interested, make sure to follow our website, Twitter, and Facebook groups. From 2023, we are also looking for corporate and start-up members. If you are interested, please contact us at hello@femtechjapan.com or fill in the application form below.
■Membership Application Form
https://forms.gle/YF48DYmCkm6pa6mz5
■Organization Profile
■Web
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