Atsuhiro Nakamura, Representative Director and President of J Frontier Corporation

If you pursue what is in front of you, you will discover your life's mission

■ Profile

Born in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1980. After graduating from university, he started out selling pharmaceuticals at a drugstore, and later became the manager of an internet advertising agency for e-commerce.

He has been the CEO of J Frontier Co., Ltd. since 2010. He has been involved in the launch of e-commerce businesses for many healthcare-related products, and for over 10 years has become a hit maker, with three products recording sales of over 100 million units each year. The online medical consultation platform "SOKUYAKU" provided by the company has been introduced to over 7,000 hospitals and pharmacies.

Online medical consultations and online medication guidance. SOKUYAKU is Japan's first one-stop platform for prescription drug delivery and other services, and J Frontier also sells its own brand of products, including health foods. We spoke to Atsuhiro Nakamura, the founding president of this rapidly growing healthcare company, about how he came to found the company and his thoughts on the business.

As a student, I was a dedicated student, no matter what. Looking back on my life, I see it as a series of days spent simply doing what was in front of me. I feel that this dedication to everything I did back then was extremely useful when preparing for J Frontier's IPO. One of the reasons I became interested in healthcare and welfare was because my grandfather required care and my brother worked at a hospital, so healthcare was close to home. Watching my grandfather's care and my brother's work, I witnessed firsthand the inefficiencies of the medical field, such as how simply picking up medication at a pharmacy can take the entire morning, or how someone else cannot pick it up and the patient has to pick it up themselves. Or how time is wasted transporting patients to and from medical appointments. My awareness of the challenges facing the healthcare industry since my student days led me to decide on a career in healthcare.

■ I want to create my own market and be at the forefront of it.

After graduating from university, I started working at a drugstore. The company sold pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, but at the time, Rakuten and Amazon were just starting to take off. This made me think, "Perhaps the future will shift away from brick-and-mortar sales and toward e-commerce." I became interested in selling products online, so I moved to an advertising agency and worked as a sales manager for online e-commerce. Although I worked on healthcare-related products, I didn't initially aim to become a manager. However, while working at the agency, I gradually began to realize that no matter how good a product is, it won't sell without a market. I've seen many products sell for over 100 million yen, and cheap doesn't necessarily mean it will sell. Of course, advertising alone isn't enough to sell a product. Without a market, it won't sell. Perhaps I could gain a foothold by creating my own market. So I learned how to sell products both in real and virtual environments, and founded J Frontier, the company it's now known as.

■To leave no one behind

In the healthcare field, I personally place great importance on prevention and pre-illness prevention. To realize a society where anyone can connect with doctors and pharmacists and receive medication anytime, anywhere, I would like to further expand our company's service, "SOKUYAKU." SOKUYAKU is Japan's first one-stop platform for online medical consultations, online medication guidance, and prescription drug delivery. It's like a pharmaceutical version of "Demae-can," where pharmacists quickly deliver medication to patients. For example, there are currently many people living on remote islands, and it can be difficult for them to purchase medication. However, with SOKUYAKU, pharmacists deliver medication directly, so even those living in poorly accessible areas or with physical disabilities can obtain their medication without visiting a doctor's office. By gradually expanding our capabilities, we are now able to offer same-day delivery in Hokkaido. We hope to continue offering same-day delivery in more areas, making SOKUYAKU more accessible to a wider range of people. We also sell our own brand of products, including health foods, specializing in "Kenbikyoui" (health, beauty, education, healing, medicine, and healthcare) from a pre-illness perspective. We hope that our products will help increase the number of people who are healthier.

■Message

I want to improve my life. People who are curious about a variety of things, who work hard, and who have a strong desire to grow are very attractive. Also, when you enter a company, it is expected that you will be able to do what your boss or senior colleagues tell you to do. Many capable people will far exceed the expectations of others, and you will get back 10 times what you ask them to. I think the reason these differences arise is because of the accumulation of small things one by one.

Yoshida Shoin once said, "Be sincere with all your heart." Simply put, it means to simply do your best at the task at hand. I believe that each person is born with a mission. It's a common misconception, but what's important in life isn't how long you live, but how you live it. Live each day to the fullest, focusing on each and every task. Then, you'll likely become aware of your mission. There's a huge difference between those who are aware of their mission and those who aren't. Once you realize this mission, you'll be able to find meaning in each and every task and won't waste time. I believe the way you work in your 20s will determine your life. I urge all college students to become aware of their mission so they don't waste a single day of their finite lives.

Student Newspaper Online September 7, 2022 Interview by Saeki Sakurayu, 1st year student at Hosei University