Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Nutraceuticals
October 10, 2017

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Enters into Comprehensive Partnership with Kochi Prefecture

  • Signed on October 6, 2017, the partnership aims to support the Phase 3 Plan for Creation of Japan's Longest Healthy Life Expectancy Prefecture, with the objective of enabling all Kochi Prefecture residents to enjoy long, rewarding lives in familiar surroundings with peace of mind.
  • Otsuka Pharmaceutical will utilize its expertise in prevention of lifestyle-related illnesses, heat stroke countermeasures, nutritional education, sports promotions, disaster mitigation and other areas to contribute to extended healthy life expectancy and enhanced quality of services for Kochi Prefecture citizens.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; President: Tatsuo Higuchi) has entered into a comprehensive partnership agreement with Kochi Prefecture to promote health and wellbeing, revitalize local communities, and enhance the quality of services for prefectural residents. The agreement was signed on October 6 at the Kochi Prefecture Government Office.

Signing Ceremony at the Kochi Prefectural Government

Photo from left: 
Masanao Ozaki,governor,Kochi Prefecture
Koji Takamoto,branch manager,Tokushima Branch Office
Shozo Yamazaki,vice president,Otsuka Pharmaceuticals

Blessed with a temperate climate, Kochi Prefecture boasts abundant natural beauty, including a rugged coastline shaped by the Kuroshio Current, clear rivers, and lushly forested mountainsides. The prefecture is also known for specialized horticultural crops and unique manufacturing technologies.
In an effort to address public health, medical and welfare-related concerns, Kochi Prefecture has formulated a Phase 3 Plan for Creation of Japan's Longest Healthy Life Expectancy Prefecture*1, implementing initiatives to enable all prefectural residents to enjoy long, rewarding lives in familiar surroundings with peace of mind. One example is the Healthy Kochi Family Project*2, a public-private partnership that focuses on promoting health and wellbeing through programs such as the Kochi Family Healthy Passport*3, which provides benefits for passport-holders at various sports facilities and other participating locations.

Otsuka has already been working together with Kochi Prefecture to develop and implement various public health-related activities. As a corporate participant in the Healthy Passport project, the company has also been involved in various health promotion initiatves in partnership with local and regional organizations.

Under the new agreement, Otsuka will expand these cooperative initiatives, maximizing expertise in prevention of lifestyle-related illnesses, heat stroke countermeasures, nutritional education, sports promotions, disaster mitigation and other areas, and providing health-related information and products based on scientific evidence to extend healthy life expectancy*4, and enhance the quality of services for Kochi Prefecture residents.

Under the terms of the agreement, Otsuka Pharmaceutical will coordinate and cooperate with Kochi Prefecture in projects as outlined below.

  1. 1Initiatives related to making Kochi Prefecture Japan's healthiest, most long-lived prefecture.
  2. 2Sports promotion initiatives
  3. 3Initiatives to enhance education and child care support.
  4. 4Nankai Trough earthquake contingency planning initiatives
  5. 5Other activities related to revitalizing local communities and enhancing the quality of services for prefectural residents.

Based on our corporate philosophy of 'Otsuka - people creating new products for better health worldwide', Otsuka Pharmaceutical is dedicated to the development of innovative products that contribute to the health of people around the world.

  1. 1Phase 3 Plan for Creation of Japan's Longest Healthy Life Expectancy Prefecture(in Japanese):
  2. 2Healthy Kochi Family Project(in Japanese): Likens the entire Kochi Prefecture to an extended family and aims to develop ingenious "Kochi Family" initiatives and promotional measures(in Japanese):
  3. 3Kochi Family Healthy Passport(in Japanese):
  4. 4Healthy life expectancy (HALE): Length of life that an individual lives without limitation in daily activities due to health problems (Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

REFERENCE

Otsuka has concluded cooperative agreements with 42 prefectural and metropolitan governments throughout Japan (Hokkaido Prefecture, Aomori Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Akita Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Metropolis of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Toyama Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, Okayama Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture, Kagawa Prefecture, Ehime Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture, Miyazaki Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture.)