The Femtech market, which originated in Europe and has recently gained attention in Japan, is expanding rapidly on a global scale. By 2025, it is anticipated to grow to a value of JPY 5 trillion.
Erena Hirano, the manager of Business Department 1 and one of Femtech Tokyo’s founders, explains Femtech Tokyos history by sharing how it was built from scratch.
What is Femtech Tokyo with 200 exhibitors?
The exhibition will bring together Femtech and Femcare companies aiming to solve various issues in women’s life stages and is expected to attract 200 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors. It will be the largest exhibition specialising Femtech in Japan.
Femtech Tokyo will have four zones for different stages of women’s lives: menstruation, fertility, pregnancy and postnatal period, and pre-menopause and menopause, as well as a general zone for health issues of all generations, including delicate zone care, breast and cervical cancer screening services, and health consultations.
Also taking place at the same time are Femtech and Femcare seminars with invited experts. The event aims to serve as a venue for companies to present their Femtech projects and disseminate the most recent Femtech knowledge, promoting social awareness of women’s health issues and Femtech/Femcare, and fostering a more welcoming environment for women.
The first two days of the exhibition (October 20-21) are exclusive to companies, local authorities, and medical institutions, as with most exhibitions. Only the final day (October 22) is open to the general public. Participation is free of charge. (However, you must apply for an invitation ticket in advance.) Go to the invitation ticket application at Femtech Tokyos official website
Femtech pioneer in Japan is gaining momentum worldwide.
To begin with, Ida Tin, CEO of Clue, a German menstrual management app, coined the term “Femtech” in 2016. In recent years, the term Femtech, which originated in Europe, has become more prevalent in Japan.
The buzz around Femtech in Japan may include the following: headlines on the Liberal Democratic Party’s Parliamentarians for FemTech Promotions launch on October 30, 2020, with MP Seiko Noda as chairperson, insurance coverage of fertility treatment starting in April 2022, and the popularity of “water-absorbing shorts”.
Many companies, from start-ups to major players such as GU and UNIQLO, have launched absorbent shorts, giving the impression that the choice has quickly expanded.
On the other hand, I also feel that femcare-related topics such as menstruation, infertility, and delicate zone care are difficult to discuss openly, even among women. There are large individual differences in symptoms and a difficult background to understand.
The goal of Femtech Tokyo, which is being held in response to this trend, is to provide a venue for deepening understanding of women’s health issues. It also aims to increase awareness of services for women that support the resolution of such issues. We would like to invite not only women but also male managers and male employees of companies to come and learn about women’s health issues. We hope that by broadening awareness and understanding of Femtech/Femcare, we can create a society where women can work and live more comfortably.
“Thankfully, 12 media outlets, including VERY and VOGUE, are currently supporting Femtech Tokyo as media partners. In the future, we intend to collaborate with our media partners to boost the Femtech market, for example, by asking them to send out relevant content.”
The male director of the “Artificial Intelligence Exhibition” is the founder
In fact, the idea for the exhibition was first conceived by the male employee responsible for the Artificial Intelligence exhibition. While researching various advanced technologies, he had the opportunity to come across an article about Femtech. ‘Women have these problems and difficulties every day, and technology can solve them. This could lead to a solution to social issues by holding an exhibition.’ However, like other men, he was very reluctant to suddenly propose an exhibition on menstruation.
Nevertheless, I kept thinking about the idea’s importance, and when I eventually felt like starting over, I consulted with my female team members. All the female employees consulted, including me, strongly agreed that we should definitely do it! I firmly believed that we should do it, and all of the other female employees who were contacted did too. After that, we organised a project team and held multiple meetings to develop a plan. I wanted to find a way to make it happen! In the end, the project received executive meeting approval.
“At the executive board meeting, many of the executives were gaping at the novel approach of holding an exhibition on ‘menstruation’ and ‘pregnancy and fertility, but in the end, the team’s excitement won them over, and they gave their approval.
“Then, when we announced that Femtech Tokyo would be held in September 2021, we received more than 100 enquiries from people who wanted to exhibit, a response that exceeded our expectations. We were relieved that we were able to launch the event in a good way.”
‘Internal wellbeing’ also changed with the organisation of events
There were positive developments within our company in organising Femtech Tokyo. For more than ten years, female employees have accounted for approximately 50% of the workforce at our company, and we have introduced a number of benefits and other programmes that are tailored to women. Two clear examples are the ‘menstrual leave’ and ‘fertility treatment leave’ systems, which allow female employees (and male employees for fertility treatment leave) to take five days of leave per year in addition to paid leave.
However, informing a male superior about taking a menstrual leave is a psychological hurdle. Therefore, a female employee suggested that Femcare leave be made more accessible, and as a result, it was implemented in 2021 at the same time as Femtech Tokyo was inaugurated. Female employees have confirmed that it is now simpler to take a leave after the company made a clear announcement and changed the system internally.
With the outbreak of the new COVID-19, a more flexible work style was also introduced. Currently, employees come to work three days a week and work from home two days a week, and this will continue even after the outbreak is under control. In addition, there is a semi-flexible working hour system that allows employees to come to work any time between 8:00 and 10:00. This system has been particularly well received by employees who are balancing work and childcare, who say that they are no longer pressed for time and can now mentally relax.
The system for promoting women’s activities also includes an early return to work system for maternity leave, and the number of applicants for this system is gradually increasing. This system provides an allowance for female employees who want to return to work early, less than a year after childbirth. This is because returning to work early is subject to higher taxes and is financially more costly than taking parental leave. The system was introduced to provide ‘working options’ for employees who wish to return to work early.
Three employees used the system last year, and enquiries are increasing this year.
“Other offers are also available after maternity leave, such as shorter hours or full-time work. It depends on the individual requirements. Thanks to these benefits and flexible working systems, the maternity leave to return rate for female employees who have had children is almost 100%, and most of our female employees are still active after childbirth.
If we host the Femtech exhibition, we must take the lead in understanding Femtech/Femcare and changing into a company where women can work comfortably. With this in mind, our company is always updating our benefits and systems, and we are sincerely committed to dealing with women’s health issues.”
An exhibition that will last for decades, not just a temporary boom
“As already mentioned, the exhibition will be held next month. It will have approximately 200 exhibitors due to the large number of enquiries we have received from companies. On the other hand, it was not easy to get an exhibition contract with no previous experience of holding an exhibition. My first contract was with the brand Bé-A, which sells super-absorbent sanitary panties.
“I think it’s going to be a great event, so good luck to them. It’s a great opportunity to promote our products, and I think it will help spread Femtech as a whole’, said the person in charge of the event with enthusiasm, which gave me confidence. Starting with Bear’s contract, exhibitors were chosen one after another, and I feel that a good trend was born.
“Now that we have a good head start on attracting exhibitors, we still need to attract 20,000 visitors. As this is the first time, we are inviting the public, we need to think about how to convey the appeal of the show. We would like to spread awareness through a series of steady activities, such as communicating on social networking sites that are more familiar to the public and with the help of media partners and Femtech-related organisations.
“Currently, we are sending out plans to convey the thoughts of exhibiting companies through interviews. We also announce products and services that will be on display at the exhibition on our official website and social networking sites (SNS) from time to time.
“This is the first edition of the event, and our first aim is to end the first edition with great success. Women’s health issues, on the other hand, will not be resolved in a single event. By continuing to hold Femtech-related exhibitions for decades to come, we hope to spread awareness of Femtech/Femcare and contribute to making it easier for women to work and live.
“From next year onwards, we have the prospect of developing the exhibition by adding more openings around ‘women’, such as in the women’s healthcare market. By inviting international companies involved in femtech and femcare to join and by sharing case studies from other countries, we hope to transform the show into one that has global appeal.
Visit the official FEMTECH Tokyo website and register right now to learn more about the emerging female technology or a practitioner who wants work with other professionals and companies.
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