Fuji Medical Instruments: Innovating Through Tradition and Technology

Japanese firms are navigating several challenges, such as supply chain diversification, rising production costs, and production bottlenecks, but they have a reputation internationally for technology, excellent craftsmanship, and high quality. This reputation, along with a weak yen, means that it has never been more cost effective to buy Japanese. Do you think this is the case and how do you feel Japanese companies can use these conditions to their advantage?

Products made in Japan have a value-added image in the global consumer’s mind because of their design, innovation, and quality. In terms of price, most overseas consumers think products made in Japan are more expensive, but that’s changing, and the weaker Japanese yen helps. I think the key is not the price but the products themselves, so although a weaker or stronger yen in the future may somewhat impact the market and sales, I think price is not the key factor.

As for the supply chain issue, it is a very big concern. I don’t think anyone in any single country can solve the supply chain issue because the world is very flat right now. Of course, we can see some political situations impacting this, and I know Japanese companies have also been planning and preparing for risk management because relying on only a few suppliers or countries is always a risk. In the past, it was difficult for both Japanese and global companies to give up the benefit of relying on Chinese manufacturers. The benefits were too big, so it was difficult to give up that situation. At the same time, there was no better solution. I know everybody is preparing now, and I think the current situation is also helping force everybody to accelerate their supply chain diversification.

Japan is also facing a demographic decline, which is putting a lot of pressure on the public health system. Social Security contributions have risen each year, and what we’re seeing now is a move away from treatment into a preventative medicine approach to address problems before they occur. This is something that is especially relevant to your company. What sort of opportunities do you think the shift towards a more preventative medicine approach is going to have for your company?

Our core product is a massage chair, and, it is categorized as a medical device, so there were very serious regulations that we had to meet to sell in Japan. Prevention is one of the key features of our products. For example, our chairs are certified to reduce neuralgia and muscle pain, improve blood circulation, and help with fatigue recovery. We have always had those functions, and the difference now is how we market our products to emphasize relaxation for prevention as well as treatment. For example, our products have embedded Bluetooth speakers, LED lights, and music, so we can emphasize how choosing a relaxation program can help you sleep well. That’s a type of prevention.

You mentioned regulations, and your products are sold in different markets. What sort of challenges did you face trying to get certifications in the different markets?

I would say that Japan’s medical certification is the strictest. The regulations are all medical, but there are different requirements. I’m not sure about other Japanese products, but some of our overseas customers complain our products are over-specification, but they don’t understand that we have to do this kind of design because of the medical regulations. We try to turn this to an advantage by emphasizing how important safety and medical requirements are and how much we care about those details in our products.

Your company went through quite a change last year, becoming a fully owned subsidiary of Johnson Health Tech Group. You also opened a North American Corporation and Chinese bases as well. Could you tell us about this and what sort of synergies you’ve been able to leverage in terms of supply chain and customer touchpoints?

This year, we set up two Fujiiryoki directly owned subsidiaries. One is in the US, and one is in China. We chose these two subsidiaries because the US and China are the number one and number two markets in our industry. Japan is number four right now. We wanted our own subsidiaries to achieve a few goals. Most importantly, we want to get more direct feedback from the local market because, in the past, our sources of information weren’t 100% accurate. We also want to get some information that is not filtered. Now, we can get instant feedback from the market to help our planning and R&D teams.

Are we going to set up more direct subsidiaries? I would say yes. The first step was setting up subsidiaries in the bigger markets and in the future, we’ll be looking for European and Southeast Asia subsidiaries. That’s our plan.

Now that you are under the umbrella of Johnson Health Tech, what synergies or benefits can you leverage?

Johnson Health Tech is a vertically integrated company, so we have our own factory, R&D, brand distribution, and our own retail chain with over 400 specialty stores globally. In the Johnson retail stores, we sell two major categories: fitness equipment and massage chairs. Those stores make it easier for us to market our massage chairs overseas.

The other benefit is that Johnson Health Tech does both commercial and home fitness equipment. For the commercial market, most of the major global fitness clubs are also our customers. We also see a trend right now where fitness gyms are installing massage chairs because everybody’s competing with each other.

Actually, we are doing business already with the Key Fitness Club, a chain in Europe, and we are looking for a partner in the US since there are good opportunities there. The B2B commercial fitness market is a very closed environment. It’s not just about the product. Your service and your warranty are also very important to the gym owners. That’s a key advantage of Johnson in that environment, and it also helps Fujiiryoki sell massage chairs to commercial facilities because we can offer good service.

We’re beginning to see the integration of new technology, like AI, into products. Your Cyber Relax Series is a good example. It uses your 5D-AI Plus technology to react to the user’s body in real-time, to monitor and adjust muscle treatment, blood pressure, and the high-performance air system. Could you tell us how you’re able to actually react to users in real-time, and what future role do you see AI technology having in your products?

The original concept was to cater to the different body shapes of the users when we provide massage. In the past, we used to increase the number of automatic massage routines so that the users could choose the routine that they wanted based on their needs. Now, by using our sensing technology, we scan the user’s body and provide a massage that is aligned with the body shape. At present, we are focusing on using AI technology to enhance the accuracy of the sensing system. The position is very important when you provide a massage, so we are trying to be more accurate in positioning the user’s shoulders and back. We also incorporated AI technology into the components that actually do the kneading or the massage at the back of the seat. By utilizing AI for this, we can get real-time feedback from the massage so the system can determine the optimal pressure and make any necessary adjustments. The system can receive 200 feedback inputs per second, which it uses to fine-tune the pressure. In fact, the system can change the movement in only 0.1 seconds.

Cyber Relax massage chair

What is the next step in terms of innovation?

Human hands are the ideal form of massaging. We haven’t reached that point yet, but that’s our goal. We have learned a lot from the massage specialists and we have transferred their expertise into our massaging machine. We started from flat massaging, and then we moved on to dimensional massaging, but it didn’t work well compared to human experts. We then found out that good specialists control their speed, which better controls the massage and gives more relaxation to the users, so that’s what we incorporated into our massaging system, and that’s how we have evolved our system.

If we talk about B2C, maybe many customers have never actually looked into buying a massage chair for the home. Maybe from an interior design perspective, they think it doesn’t fit with their other furniture, or maybe there’s a perception that massage chairs are for older people. Your Synca brand, especially your new CirC Grace, uses a more design-focused element and is something that can fit in any room with its curved design and its different colors. Can you tell us about how you’re adapting your design to new customer tastes?

The Synca brand was built to focus on the lifestyle of the younger generation, driven by a modern and innovative design. Fujiiryoki has around 70 years of history, but let me talk about Japan first. When consumers think of Fujiiryoki, they think about medical products because the company name translates as Fuji Medical Instruments in English. They think the massage machine is medical, so it’s more for older people. We did some consumer research that showed the younger generation doesn’t think a massage chair is a product for their age. Actually, in Japan, most customers who buy our chairs are around 55 to 60 years old, but internationally, they are 30 to 35 years old. To change that, we want a brand with a commitment to a design philosophy. Fujiiryoki represents a long, professional heritage that is focused on massaging techniques, so we want Synca to be more like a relaxation-style brand. In other words, the design approach between Synca and Fujiiryoki is quite different, so we want to get the younger generation to think about the possibilities of a massage chair. They also need relaxation. It’s not just for older people. Everybody needs it, and it is a good preventative treatment, so we want a younger brand image and a different product design to access the younger generation in Japan. Internationally, the design taste is so different. For example, European and US styles are quite different, so we try to use different design approaches, with Fujiiryoki and Synca, to cover more consumer tastes and preferences. Of course, we will continue to get feedback from the market and use that to help us market these two brands globally. The difficulty is that Japan’s taste is also very different from other countries, so how we optimize our investment is important.

Synca CirC Grace massage chair

We’ve seen this not only with your design but also with your different product lines in different countries. For example, here in Japan, you not only have your massage chairs but you’ve also got your healthy futon and other types of massagers, whereas in the United States, you are mainly focusing on massage chairs. You mentioned you are looking to expand overseas. Are there any product lines you would like to introduce overseas?

First, we will make models for Japan that will focus on this market. Sometimes we can sell those models in some countries but not in other countries. For example, when we tried to sell in the US, the number one feedback we got was that it was too small, so we needed to find a marketing strategy to overcome that disadvantage. Of course, a wide chair is comfortable, but if there is too much space, we cannot do a proper massage. We appreciate that market feedback, and our team studied how to make the chair more comfortable, like a sofa, but still offer a good massage experience. This year, in the third quarter, we will launch three overseas products that are bigger but offer a good massage. The next step will be to collect feedback quickly and provide it to our engineering team to help with product development. Of course, before we launch overseas products, we talk to key users in those countries to make sure we are not developing something that nobody wants. The more that we sell, the more feedback we can get from real consumers. That’s the direction we are taking.

You mentioned key consumers are vital to getting product development feedback. As you look to enter the US and China, working with local partners will likely be crucial, whether for distribution, production, or marketing. Could you tell us what type of partnerships you’re currently seeking to enhance your brand value and grow your product portfolio?

For sales, we have our subsidiaries in the US and in China, and then we also use our Johnson sister companies if they already have a stable sales channel. We also use exclusive distributors in some countries to help us expand our sales in those markets.

In terms of the focus, is it primarily B2B or B2C? What is the strategy in America?

In the US, it’s both B2B and B2C. For example, we have two sister companies, one focused on retail and one focused on commercial, so we work with both of them.

You mentioned incorporating customer feedback into your design process. Japanese companies are famous for their research and development, spending about 3% of GDP on R&D compared to many other countries, which are only spending about half that. Could you tell us about your R&D process and how your designers are able to incorporate the feedback that you get from these customers?

The most important group in our company is our Planning and R&D team, and they occupy most of our resources. That’s been true throughout our history because, in the past 70 years, all we have done has focused on massage. I think that’s the right concept because the key reason people buy a massage chair is not the size, design, or material; it’s the quality of the massage. Throughout our history, we have concentrated on the machine, both the hardware and the software, to produce a great massage experience. That’s our key value.

In the execution process, we separate our R&D group into two teams. One we call the advanced engineering group, and the other team is more of a mass production engineering group. The advanced engineering group is working on technology research and development, and that will be the trend for the next three to five years, so we have enough time to make sure our ideas can be used on the mechanical or machine side. We then move to the mass production engineering team so they can do the production design, but the advanced engineering group is very important. They get ideas from the product planning team, which gets feedback from customers in different countries and then defines the direction for the future. Those two groups then work together. The advanced engineering team can spend their time, for example, working with colleges or medical facilities to find ways to use these ideas to make sure we can realize the product ideas for the future.

You spoke about catching the trend. How do you decide what that trend is?

In the early days, information didn’t spread as fast as today. There was no Internet and no email, so things were based on the team in Japan. They surveyed the consumers in this market and then tried to develop something by themselves. Nowadays, because information is spread so easily, we can get that information online. For example, when they see AI, they will think, how can I embed this feature or technology in our products? There are two approaches. First, we propose the idea and then check with the customer. Two, the customer provides their needs to us, and then we analyze that to find the real meaning of the feedback and see what we should do.

In terms of collaboration, especially for the technological parts, these days, we see huge disruptions in terms of cross-industry collaboration. If you look at China, for example, Xiaomi, the mobile phone maker, just launched a series of EV cars, and they are partnering with technological firms to do so. Are you looking for collaboration partners outside of Japan that could help enhance your technological efforts?

Yes, of course, and that’s one reason we set up our overseas subsidiaries. In the past, the communications with our international vendors or suppliers were not easy because they needed to know our standards and our needs, so communication took a lot of time. Now, the US subsidiary helps us a lot because there are many innovative companies in that country and they can help us identify, contact, and communicate with those companies. I think that really improved the speed of our development.

Sustainability is always a theme of our reports. Your materials include premium leather, but there’s a shift now away from animal-based materials. Some of the synthetic leathers on the market today are excellent. Is that an aspect of your product development that will be important to showcase your materials or your sustainability?

Yes. Actually, we are moving away from animal leather. I would say that 99% of our products use polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). That’s an important trend.

This year is your 70th anniversary. If we were to return on your 75th anniversary, what would you like to have achieved for the company?

I keep telling my team that Fujiiryoki is number one in Japan. We already hold a significant share of the market. However, our goal is to become number one globally, contributing to the beauty and health of the people in the world. To reach this goal, we set up overseas subsidiaries, and we are trying to develop products that better meet global consumer needs. I expect that in five years we will occupy more market share globally. Japan occupies 60% of the total global market share, but there are still a lot of opportunities outside of Japan. I keep telling my team that we have done a very good job in Japan, but we should use our expertise and experience to sell Fujiiryoki products to a global audience so that global consumers can enjoy the same quality products that we offer in Japan.

For information, visit: https://www.fujiiryoki.com/