President’s Message

Steadfast commitment is MEDIPAL’s driving force

The MEDIPAL Group handles a wide range of products which are essential for people’s lives and well-being, from pharmaceuticals to medical equipment, clinical diagnostics, daily necessities, cosmetics, and food processing raw materials. We believe it is our role and social responsibility to deliver products safely, securely, and consistently on a routine basis during normal times, of course, and also to provide support during an emergency. We have stood by this commitment steadfastly from the time MEDIPAL was founded up to today.
When the Noto Peninsula Earthquake occurred in January 2024, we quickly activated the Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters and worked to supply the products needed as we also engaged in support activities in solidarity with our employees and their families, customers, and local residents in the affected area. Our ability to move swiftly and respond appropriately to the disaster stemmed from our experience during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 and accumulated experience from various other subsequent natural disasters.
Japan experiences many natural disasters, such as earthquakes, typhoons, torrential rains, and heavy snowfall. All of our employees therefore share the philosophy, “Our mission is to deliver pharmaceuticals in Japan.” Our past experiences have led us to think about what our business is and how we should operate it, and pass this down. I believe that the accumulation of these experiences and challenges is what has driven the growth of the MEDIPAL Group, and is the result Shuichi Watanabe of the fusion of employees across generations.

The significance of “Change the Oroshi”

The MEDIPAL Group’s management philosophy is “Contributing to people’s health and the advancement of society through creation of value in distribution.” Based on this philosophy, we have actively created a Group, carried out business restructuring, and expanded our business fields to “Pharmaceuticals, Health, and Beauty.” We also engage in activities to optimize the entire supply chain by building a robust logistics function, distribution network, and salesforce with the high expertise needed for stable supply nationwide, and utilizing these strengths.
The Japan of today is facing major changes in the business environment from a declining and aging population, growing social security expenses, a declining working population, and other pressures beyond what the rest of the world has seen. These changes are expected to increase in severity, and I think it is essential to pursue reforms and change our profit structure, without being held back by past practices and conventional thinking, in order for companies to survive.
We have been developing our vision, called “Change the Oroshi,” since 2014 and continue to take on the challenges of changing how we approach the wholesale business to achieve this innovation. We have set our ideal corporate situation as “Expand, Support, and Connect ‘Pharmaceuticals, Health, and Beauty.’”, an Orchestra in Support of People’s Health. We hope to be a company that contributes to people’s healthy lives by creating new value through the combination of our employees, Group companies, and partner companies honing their respective roles and strengths.
The 2027 MEDIPAL Medium-Term Vision we are currently pursuing through the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027 outlines five growth strategies: (1) Expansion of Overseas Business, (2) Expansion of Prevention and Pre-disease Business and AGRO & FOOD Business, (3) Enhancement of Business with and in Digital, (4) Building Sustainable Logistics Business, and (5) Value Co-creation in Community Healthcare. Below, are examples of the main activities we are focusing on.

  • Expansion of Overseas Business
    Tackling the challenge of developing pharmaceuticals in Japan and overseas with JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. and targeting the realization and provision of new therapeutic treatments for patients with ultra-rare diseases and their families

  • Expansion of Prevention and Pre-disease Business and AGRO & FOOD Business
    Targeting new value creation to address changes in the food environment in Japan by tackling the challenge of new businesses in the areas of pre-disease intervention and prevention and integrating the businesses of two subsidiaries, MP Gokyo Food & Chemical Co., Ltd. and MEDIPAL FOODS CORPORATION

  • Enhancement of Business with and in Digital
    Investing in venture companies possessing diverse characteristics in medical-related fields and combining the resources of the Group to create and propagate convenient new services

  • Building Sustainable Logistics Business
    Strengthening the pharmaceuticals distribution base in the Kyushu area, as well as launching a logistics joint venture aimed at realizing combined transportation and delivery of pharmaceuticals and laboratory test samples (sharing logistics)

  • Value Co-creation in Community Healthcare
    Engaging in activities specializing in rare disease fields, creating a professional organization specializing in women’s health issues, and partnering with local medical institutions on disease awareness and identifying potential patients

The MEDIPAL Group will continue to put effort into initiatives that will contribute to extending healthy life expectancy, which is the desire of many people. These efforts are not only directed at treatment once people become ill but also before they become ill; in other words, at the prevention and pre-disease stage. We will also continue to broaden our focus to the treatment of animals which are good companions to people, and eating habits to create robust mental and physical well-being. I don’t think there is any greater joy than helping people to live healthier lives and reducing the number of people who suffer from illnesses and thereby contributing to the advancement of society.

The power of human resources to advance the growth strategies

Human resources are the important element in pursuing the five growth strategies. This is especially true in the healthcare industry, because healthcare cannot be achieved without person-to-person connections in the real world, no matter how many cutting-edge systems are installed or how far digitization has progressed.
In the MEDIPAL Group, we define the ideal human resources needed in an era of rapid changes as “future-oriented human resources,” and are pursuing initiatives to realize the ideal organization, ideal human resources, and ideal human resources portfolio.
We will continue to create an open, active, and cooperative culture that respects employees’ diverse values and enables them to maximize their potential, regardless of their age, gender, career path, job position, or other such factors. I believe this will lead to growth of the Group and will carve out a path to the future.

Active investment, capital policy, and shareholder returns

The MEDIPAL Group is currently pursuing innovation, and we are at the point where we are actively investing in new businesses.
Amid this, we are striving for sustainable corporate growth and maximization of corporate value through business and financial activities founded on the dual focus of increasing ROE and reducing the capital costs, in accordance with our Basic Capital Policy.
One of the main initiatives is reducing strategic shareholdings. Our basic policy is to reduce these shareholdings in the interest of controlling shareholding risk and capital efficiency, and we will continue to pursue reduction in the future.
For distribution of profits to shareholders, we are maintaining or increasing the dividend payout ratio on earnings before amortization of goodwill and amortization of intangible assets arising from the growth investments set forth in the Medium-Term Vision, while also comprehensively assessing demand for funding and flexibly implementing share buybacks and cancellations of shares as appropriate for the purpose of improving capital efficiency and greater return of profits.

Sustainability is coexisting and cocreating with society

We interpret sustainability as coexisting and cocreating with society. We analyze the relationship between social issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Group’s business activities, and the Medium-Term Vision, and identify materiality in six categories that will support our goal of resolving social issues and achieving sustainable growth for the Group. We are actively pursuing sustainability management through collaboration and cooperation with each Group company.
Especially, we are focusing on strengthening Group compliance and building a governance system as part of that. In addition to enhancing education throughout the Group, the Board of Directors is working to further strengthen corporate governance by establishing a framework for monitoring the status of compliance and managing the Group in a highly transparent manner.
Our Company is a member of society and our role is to contribute to the advancement of society. I think continuing to create value that contributes to people leading abundant and healthy lives is certainly our major role. I want our Group to continue to be a group that strives to coexist and cocreate with society by taking the initiative to engage in a process of constant innovation and prepare for the future, and to grow and prosper along with all of our stakeholders.