Maruhan Health Insurance Society and Maruhan Corporation jointly introduce "Pocket Therapist" to address physical ailments including lower back pain at workplaces, accelerating presenteeism improvement and medical cost optimization through collaboration between employers and health insurance societies

Backtech Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter "our company") is pleased to announce that "Pocket Therapist," a health promotion support service provided by our company, has been introduced by Maruhan Health Insurance Society (Headquarters: Taito-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter "Maruhan Kenpo") and Maruhan Corporation (Kyoto Headquarters: Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, hereinafter "Maruhan Corp.").

Background of Introduction: Easy to consult, leads to results. Towards a health consultation service that advances health management

Under its management philosophy of "Bringing Joy to Life," Maruhan has established the "Maruhan Health Declaration - Seven Policies for Health," which covers physical health, mental health, and women's health, and is engaged in initiatives for disease prevention and health maintenance and promotion. The company strives to build a fulfilling life and achieve sound corporate development, and has been certified as a "2026 Health Management Excellent Corporation." Furthermore, Maruhan Kenpo also develops a wide range of health programs to support the physical and mental well-being of its members, including various health checkups, support for exercise habits, and preventive initiatives, promoting health creation in conjunction with the employer.

Among these, care for physical ailments such as lower back pain, which arises from physically demanding work at the front lines, has been a continuous and important theme. Physical discomfort such as lower back pain is a major cause of presenteeism, where individuals come to work but cannot perform at their full potential. With many voices from members also being received, countermeasures and specific measures for prevention and early intervention have become key themes under the collaborative health approach, which involves cooperation between the employer and the health insurance society.

Within this context, it was decided to introduce "Pocket Therapist" as a "health consultation service that is easy for members to use," which can also address mental health issues early on by focusing on physical health issues such as lower back pain.

The decision to adopt the service was based on the following three points:

An initiative that addresses both lower back pain and mental health, with expected cost-effectiveness Specialists in musculoskeletal disorders, such as physical therapists and occupational therapists, support self-care for physical ailments like lower back pain and stiff shoulders, while simultaneously working on maintaining mental condition. The ability to address both lower back pain and mental health was evaluated as an initiative with expected cost-effectiveness.

A framework that can support in two aspects: optimization of judo therapy fees and sickness and injury benefits This aligns with the health insurance society's goal of qualitatively improving its health programs and its direction, by optimizing judo therapy fees due to lower back pain and other issues, and by optimizing sickness and injury benefits through the maintenance of mental condition.

Providing an accessible point of contact through chat support by medical professionals Medical professionals such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, and certified public psychologists provide one-on-one support via smartphone, creating an environment where members can work on establishing healthy habits at their own pace, without their colleagues knowing.

Through the introduction of "Pocket Therapist," under the collaborative health framework that links employers and health insurance societies, we will contribute to the maintenance of each member's physical and mental condition, the improvement of presenteeism, and the long-term optimization of medical costs and qualitative improvement of health programs, starting with countermeasures for physical ailments such as lower back pain at the front lines.

Comments from Representatives

Mr. Hata, Maruhan Health Insurance Society

As a characteristic of our health insurance society, we have business locations across the country, and many of our employees work in shift-based, standing customer service roles, making it necessary to address lower back pain. Therefore, we determined that an online program that allows users to schedule appointments with physical therapists themselves, regardless of location or time, would be a highly usable program and decided to introduce it.

We have received feedback from users that their pain and discomfort have improved through continuous self-management based on detailed guidance from medical professionals such as physical therapists. We also believe it is helpful for mental care, as they pay attention to mental health during consultations.

We can check the number of users and the progress of appointment slots in real-time from the management screen, and we are advancing collaborative health through regular reviews and evaluations.

Mr. Matsuhashi, Maruhan Corporation

While it is difficult for companies to add new initiatives mid-year, this was introduced as a collaborative health initiative with the health insurance society starting in the second half of fiscal 2025. After trials including online consultations, we began company-wide deployment, but currently, its utilization is limited to some employees. We plan to promote its widespread use by highlighting the effectiveness of AI posture assessments, etc.

About Maruhan Health Insurance Society

Maruhan Health Insurance Society is a health insurance society that supports the health maintenance and promotion of employees of Maruhan Corporation and their families. It develops health programs that comprehensively support members' prevention and health promotion, including various health checkups, subsidies for smoking cessation clinics and online smoking cessation programs, and subsidies for various vaccinations.

Society Name: Maruhan Health Insurance Society

Location: 1-9-12 Matsugaya, Taito-ku, Tokyo SPK Building 7F

Director General: Naoki Tabata

Affiliated Business: Maruhan Corporation

URL: https://maruhan-kenpo.jp/

About Maruhan Corporation

Since its founding in 1957, Maruhan Corporation has been a company that develops leisure businesses such as bowling, amusement, and cinema, as well as building maintenance, food service, golf, and overseas financial businesses, with pachinko as its core business. With the management philosophy of "Bringing Joy to Life," the company actively works on maintaining and promoting employee health, as evidenced by its certification as a "2026 Health Management Excellent Corporation."

Company Name: Maruhan Corporation

Location: Kyoto Headquarters / Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Tokyo Headquarters / Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Chairman and Representative Director Masakazu Han

Established: December 1972 (Founded: May 1957)

URL: https://www.maruhan.co.jp/

About "Pocket Therapist"

"Pocket Therapist" is a service that approaches mental health issues, which are difficult to address, from the perspective of physical pain and concerns, and supports a wide range of measures from physical complaints to mental health issues, and improves presenteeism.

Based on the expertise of medical professionals, it supports the improvement of health literacy and the habituation of self-care through online consultations for health problems and the provision of personalized health programs and video content for each employee.

In addition to functioning as a health consultation service, by providing support for specific ailments and concerns, it is being introduced by many health insurance societies and companies, regardless of industry or size, with the aim of addressing high-stress individuals, whose numbers have been increasing in recent years, and reducing presenteeism.

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About Backtech Co., Ltd.

Backtech Co., Ltd., a venture company with strong medical expertise originating from Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, with the management philosophy of "Making Society Healthy," supports the strategic planning and implementation of human capital management and health management for companies. "Pocket Therapist," a service for addressing mental health issues by focusing on stiff shoulders and lower back pain, is supported by medical professionals, primarily physical therapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists, who support the physical and mental health of each employee.

Backtech supports health management in a wide range of industries, and by having more companies and organizations utilize "Pocket Therapist," we will contribute to the realization of a healthy and sustainable society.

Company Name: Backtech Co., Ltd.

Representative: Naoto Fukutani, Representative Director and CEO

Location: Canal Square Shibaura 6F, 3-14-18 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Date of Establishment: April 4, 2016

URL: https://www.backtech.co.jp/

Pocket Therapist: https://pocket-therapist.jp/

Contact Information

Backtech Co., Ltd. Public Relations Department

Email: info@backtech.co.jp