Toru Sakai, President and CEO of JP Holdings Co., Ltd.

Changing people and society as a company that cares for children

President and CEO of JP Holdings Co., Ltd.　Toru Sakai(Toru Sakai)

■ Profile
After graduating from Waseda University Graduate School, he joined a US company.
He then became Executive Officer and Head of Strategic Investments at Atrium Co., Ltd.
Since 2011, he has founded and served as representative of four investment companies in the United States and Japan.
In 2018, he became a director of JP Holdings Co., Ltd., in 2019 he became a senior managing director, and in 2020 he became the representative director and president, a position he holds to this day.

JP Holdings Co., Ltd. operates approximately 300 childcare facilities nationwide, including daycare centers, after-school clubs, and children's centers, and offers a variety of childcare support services, with the company's management philosophy being "Everything we do is for the smiles of children." The company's business activities are diverse, and it is also actively working on new ventures such as the operation of the childcare support platform "Kodomel." We spoke with President Sakai about trends in the childcare industry and the appeal of the company.

■ My student days: researching and taking action on my own

During high school, I attended a technical college for mechanical engineering, but from the first day I enrolled, I felt like I hated it. I quickly realized that the content I was studying there wasn't for me, but I decided to continue attending until I got my high school diploma. I wanted to go to a university overseas, and I had been thinking about studying abroad since high school. My parents were supportive, but they refused to provide any financial support, so I spent my three years of high school working part-time jobs every day to make ends meet.
After that, I researched at the library and enrolled in the university with the lowest tuition fees in the United States. However, when I actually went there, I felt that the school's environment was narrowing my worldview, so I transferred to the next school with the lowest tuition fees. I struggled at first because I couldn't speak English.

■ A life that is close to children

After graduating from university, I went into the financial industry, where I worked in loan purchases and was doing very well, even taking a company public.
After a while, my own child was born. At the age of 35, I left work for a while and lived a family-centered life, supporting my wife and being close to my child. I was amazed to see how my child changed so much through these various experiences. I began to think that I would like to work in a position related to children's development, and that's when I met JP Holdings.

■What we can do to bring smiles to children's faces

When children's environment changes or there are factors of uncertainty, they may go in a direction different from the person they want to be, so I believe it is important to let them try different things in a safe environment.
First of all, to create a comfortable environment, we have our employees thoroughly consider everything based on the idea that "everything is for the sake of the children's smiles." Also, because it is important that the employees, who are the adults closest to us, are always smiling, we are creating a workplace where they feel that they are valued by the company.
In order to support children's desire to try new things and provide them with opportunities to try various things, in addition to daily childcare, the nursery also offers early childhood learning programs such as gymnastics, music, English, dance, Mojikazu, and STEAMS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Mathematics, Sports) childcare. A bilingual nursery school will also open in April 2023.
Our company has created an environment that supports the growth of children in a safe and secure environment from infancy, toddlerhood, and school-age. In the future, we would like to increase the number of after-school clubs we operate and strengthen our collaboration with nursery schools.

■ Creating an environment where children can have dreams and hopes

There are many challenges facing modern families raising children, such as the problem of waiting lists for childcare, the lowest birth rate ever recorded and the highest number of child suicides ever recorded, and the problem of child abuse. However, we believe that with the support we provide as a childcare service provider, we can improve these issues.
At the nurseries we operate, we have implemented an initiative called "My Nursery School" where nursery teachers and nutritionists answer questions about childbirth and child-rearing for young people in the local area, regardless of whether they have children, and where they can experience nursery school, providing a variety of information on child-rearing.We believe that the decline in the birth rate, as well as the incidence of depression and high suicide rates among pregnant women, are particularly serious issues, and as part of our awareness-raising activities for local communities, we have introduced My Nursery School in more than 200 nurseries we operate nationwide.
When implementing such measures, our company places great importance on actively incorporating opinions from the field. Of our employees, only a small number are headquarters staff, with the majority working in nurseries, after-school clubs, and children's centers. If measures are unilaterally decided by a small number of headquarters staff, it can increase the burden on the field. For this reason, we have established various committees with field staff as members, and these committees consider measures.
The Agency for Children and Families was launched on April 1st, and we have begun working towards realizing a "child-centered" society. Our childcare philosophy is "cultivating the ability to live for the future" and our education philosophy is "nurturing the ability to become the person they want to be," and we provide independent learning that fosters each child's interests and curiosity. We will continue to take on various challenges, aiming to create an environment where children can further pursue their own aspirations and potential, and grow with dreams.

■Message to students

I believe there are many things you can do right now. Take advantage of the environment where you can easily access information from all over the world, try new things, and discover the joy of doing so. I also want you to teach elementary school and nursery school children that "the world is big and there are many options, and it's no big deal if you fail." Please be a source of hope for children who are anxious about the future.

Student Newspaper Online, June 13, 2023, Interview by Ikehama Momoka, 1th year student at Sophia University