Caregiving in Japan
The country is projected to face a shortage of approximately 570,000 caregiving professionals by 2040. Labor shortage is not unique to this industry, but while sectors like manufacturing have leveraged advances in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), caregiving has remained largely unchanged.
For more than five decades, the caregiving industry has seen limited innovation. Additionally, restrictions on adjusting fees for care services hinder the ability to generate enough profit to improve conditions for both staff and care recipients. Given these challenges, rethinking and redesigning the caregiving environment is crucial to meeting future demands. At Sompo Care, we recognize that the first step to that better future is improving the caregiving industry itself.
Innovation that cares for people
Future Care is Sompo Care’s answer to the challenge, providing high-quality care even as the workforce shrinks, by enhancing productivity without compromising quality. Our “ultimate custom-made care” supports each recipient’s unique lifestyle and priorities. This is achieved by harnessing technology and data to eliminate inefficiencies, redundancies and waste, thereby freeing up time to focus on activities that benefit from human connection—such as accompanying recipients on outings or teaching them how to knit—creating an environment that emphasizes meaningful interactions between recipients and caregivers.
When we first introduced Future Care, some staff members expressed confusion, as the benefits were not immediately visible. To help everyone understand the value of the initiative, we focused on its moral benefits rather than just economic ones. While reducing task time is important, we first emphasized recipient comfort and satisfaction. This approach helped more staff members embrace Sompo Care’s vision for transforming caregiving.
Passion to transform the industry and society
Guided by the Sompo Group’s purpose of striving “for a future of health, wellbeing and financial protection,” Sompo Care aims to address social issues through our business, creating a society where everyone can live a healthy and fulfilling life true to themselves. The next generation will be key in advancing Future Care, a pioneering initiative in transforming caregiving’s future in Japan. By fostering passionate, engaged individuals and seeking solutions through dialogue, we hope to shape the future of caregiving in a positive direction.
When facing challenges, I focus on achieving the right results rather than merely articulating ideals. Simply discussing principles is not enough to drive us toward the desired outcomes. I see the company continuing to move forward with passion to achieve “sampo-yoshi,” a three-way win for care recipients, staff, and society.
