Message from the Representative Director
The Change We Pursue in Healthcare:
The CUC Group’s 10-Year Journey and Future Vision
Keita Hamaguchi
Transforming ourselves to transform society in a rapidly changing world
The years 2023 to 2024 marked the dawn of the post-COVID era, yet they also brought harsh realities into sharp focus. The prolonged geopolitical tensions, such as the Ukraine crisis, alongside natural disasters like floods and storms driven by climate change, have challenged us profoundly.
Moreover, global inflation has led to increased poverty and social unrest in many countries, casting a shadow over people’s lives.
In Japan, as the so-called baby boomer generation, born between 1947 and 1949, reaches late old age in 2025, we are on the brink of entering a fully-fledged, rapidly aging society. The rising costs of social security and the growing shortage of healthcare and caregiving workers are realities that we can no longer avoid. With this crisis looming, I feel a deep sense of urgency when I see the current state of Japan’s healthcare and caregiving industry, which although protected by the universal health insurance system, is advancing at a pace that is far from adequate.
It is my belief that maintaining the status quo is no longer a viable option for this industry. Doing so poses significant risks and leads to decline. In order to remain relevant and competitive, it is essential not only to adapt our services and delivery systems to meet changing times and needs, but also to reassess our fundamental purpose and reason for being. In such a challenging era, we are committed to self-reflection and to proactively driving the changes needed in society.
On 8 August 2024, CUC celebrated its 10th anniversary. The desire that led to our founding – to create sustainable healthcare for our children’s future remains unchanged. What began as a small spark of social change ten years ago has, through the collaboration of many like-minded individuals, grown into a mission to Create Hope Through Healthcare that now spans the globe. As we reach this 10-year milestone, I would like to reflect on the evolution of the CUC Group and share our vision for the future.
The 10-year journey of the CUC Group:
Two turning points that have shaped our present
From our founding until 2019, we expanded our Management Support Business for medical institutions from home healthcare to hospitals and dialysis care. In 2017, we launched our own Hospice Business and In-home Nursing Business, establishing the foundation of our current vertically integrated platform that supports everything from acute care to end-of-life care. After navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, we were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in June 2023 and began our U.S. expansion in January 2024. In April 2024, we further expanded with new ventures, including medical tourism for foreign visitors seeking healthcare in Japan (See the CUC Group business structure diagram on the facing page).
While it may seem like we were on a smooth growth trajectory, the reality was far from it. Our journey was marked by continuous challenges and setbacks. However, there were two major turning points that have shaped our present.
The first turning point was the creation of our mission: Creating Hope Through Healthcare. In the first three years after our founding, I was involved in everything, from customer interactions to decision making. However, as our team grew to nearly 100 members and our business expanded, it became clear that we needed to address the challenges that came with such growth. The need for delegation was urgent. To delegate effectively, we needed a guiding philosophy. Together with the management team, we redefined our group’s purpose and crafted the mission, Creating Hope Through Healthcare. This mission reflects our commitment to serve anyone seeking hope through healthcare, regardless of location or field.
This marked the beginning of CUC’s mission-driven management, which continues today. Since then,
I’ve made it clear that our mission, not any individual, should lead the way.
The second turning point was the COVID-19 management crisis. In 2020, as the rapid spread of COVID-19 severely strained healthcare systems both in Japan and abroad, our group also suffered a significant blow. The senior management was faced with dire projections, even contemplating the possibility of bankruptcy, creating an atmosphere of intense tension within the company.
It was the employees’ extraordinary efforts that ultimately overcame this crisis.
In the scorching heat of summer, our in-home care teams completed their visits wearing the necessary protective gear. We launched new services, including supporting the establishment of PCR testing centers, creating health monitoring systems in collaboration with local governments and related medical institutions, and assisting in the operation of large-scale vaccination sites. Most importantly, each individual stood firm, tirelessly dedicating themselves to the patients and society, enabling our group to contribute to the fight against this unknown infectious disease. As a result, we experienced significant growth as a company. However, witnessing the exhausted faces of the employees who pulled us back from the brink of crisis made me question whether we were truly Creating Hope Through Healthcare.
CUC Group Business Structur
CUC Group has spent ten years since its founding in 2014 expanding both its service areas and geographic reach. The group’s core businesses are medical institutions, hospice services,
and in-home nursing. Its mission is “Creating Hope Through Healthcare,”
and it provides a wide range of medical services both domestically and internationally.
Advancements in philosophy implementation and
cross-business collaboration in FY 2023
The greatest challenge we faced was the COVID-19 pandemic, and our employees always came through in these tough times. They are essential to realizing our mission of Creating Hope Through Healthcare, which is why maximizing their job satisfaction is a key management responsibility.
To support this, we established the CUC Partners Promise in August 2023. This promise outlines our commitment to creating an environment where employees can thrive and pursue their goals. Over the past year, we have focused on embedding this philosophy, enhancing development and career support, and boosting internal communication based on the Promise.
For example, starting in April 2023, we launched Philosophy Talk, a small-group session for employees to discuss our philosophy, and CUC TIMES, a monthly event for management messages, increasing opportunities for employees to engage with our philosophy. Additionally, we introduced the Self-Declaration System, allowing employees to express their future career hopes, and Lectures by External Speaker, a lecture series featuring prominent external speakers for development and career support.
As a result of these initiatives, the average score for philosophy practice, measured monthly among employees, improved from 3.97 out of 5 in FY2022 to 4.17 in FY2023. This reflects the increased alignment and implementation of our philosophy among our employees.
In FY2023, we also focused on enhancing cross business collaboration. Until then, the CUC Group had accelerated expansion by enhancing specialization within each business unit. While this approach led to steady growth in each area, a significant challenge emerged due to insufficient information sharing and collaboration between businesses, making it difficult to create synergies across the organization.
In response to this, in October 2023, we launched the Hope Town Project, a cross-group initiative aimed at promoting business collaboration. Over six months, we held the Hope Town Regional Summit in eight areas across the country, bringing together core members from various businesses. More than 500 participants, including CUC Group managers and executives from supported medical institutions, such as chairpersons, directors, and nursing department heads, gathered from Sapporo to Hakata.
At the summit, CUC’s senior management and frontline leaders collaborated to align on regional healthcare challenges and create vision statements for each area. This face-to-face interaction built trust, leading to new collaborations like personnel exchanges and service trials. Personally, it provided me valuable insights into regional needs and enthusiasm.
Hope Town Project: Hokuriku Summit held in November 2023
Aiming for 2040: Advancing patient-centered
healthcare and creating a motivating workplace for employees
Reflecting on our journey from inception to now, the past decade has clarified what we must continue to change and what we must preserve.
By 2040, Japan’s elderly population will peak, leading to severe labor shortages and potential breakdowns in social security. While we must adapt our actions to address healthcare challenges flexibly, our mission remains constant. Under this unwavering mission, our goals are to promote patient-centered healthcare and create a motivating workplace for employees.
In advancing patient-centered healthcare, it is essential to reconsider the approach to medical care. As global aging progresses, the role of healthcare is shifting from traditional “curative” medicine to a “supportive care” model that focuses on daily living support. In this context, collaboration bevond the boundaries of healthcare and caregiving becomes crucial. Instead of the traditional disease-centered, siloed approach, a team-based model that focuses on patients’ daily lives and addresses all their issues comprehensively in the community is essential.
We will enhance regional collaboration across various sectors. By leveraging the CUC Group’s broad capabilities in healthcare, nursing, and caregiving, we aim to provide essential services to patients. We will also expand into adjacent areas where current systems fall short, such as life planning and insurance, using our extensive patient data and professional experience to comprehensively address all patient needs.
The key to creating a motivating workplace for employees is Gemba-Power. This involves proactively addressing daily issues in the field to improve patient acceptance and employee ease of movement. By enhancing Gemba-Power, where the field takes an active role in problem-solving, we can boost overall organizational productivity and dedicate more time to improving service quality. This, in turn, enhances patient satisfaction and emplovee motivation.
In April 2022, the CUC Group launched the Gemba-Power Improvement Project to standardize operations and techniques through detailed manuals. From FY2024, we will focus on fostering a field-driven culture, enhancing problem-solving skills, and improving knowledge sharing to further boost Gemba-Power.
I believe that a culture focused on advancing patient-centered healthcare and creating a motivating workplace for employees will be the CUC Group’s greatest and most unique competitive advantage. As a result, we will continue to be a preferred workplace.
Together, we aim to become the most indispensable medical group in each region and shape the future. Under the motto Change Until Change, we strive to embrace change and achieve our misson of Creating Hope Through Healthcare.
August 2024
Keita Hamaguch
Representative Director, CEO
