A First for a Private Company: "Fecal Donation" Certified for Tsuruoka City's "Tsuruoka Health Point" Program
Metagen Therapeutics' 'fecal donation' initiative was certified as a target project for Tsuruoka City's 'Tsuruoka Health Point' program, a first for a private company. Points will be awarded from April 1, 2026.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 22:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 16:47
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 10:47 (474h 0m after Collected)
The "fecal donation" promoted by Metagen Therapeutics Inc. (Headquarters: Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture; President and CEO: Taku Nakahara) has been certified as a target project for Tsuruoka City's FY2026 "Tsuruoka Health Point" program, effective April 1, 2026. This marks the first time a private company's initiative has been certified as a target project for this program.
The "Tsuruoka Health Point" is a system implemented by Tsuruoka City from April 2025, where points are awarded for health-promoting actions such as undergoing health checkups or participating in exercise events. It targets residents or workers in Tsuruoka City, who can acquire points via the Tsuruoka City official LINE account, etc., and souvenirs are given to winners through a lottery that they can enter every time they reach 40 points (40, 80, 120 points).
The "fecal donation" certified this time is a new social contribution initiative where people with healthy gut environments provide their own feces for the development of new drugs utilizing gut bacteria found in feces. Metagen Therapeutics opened Japan's first fecal donation facility, the "Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room", in Tsuruoka City in April 2025, and has been seeking fecal donations from "gut microbiome donors" residing in the Shonai region.
From April 1, 2026, residents or workers in Tsuruoka City who apply to be a gut microbiome donor (answering a web questionnaire), undergo tests for donor registration, or donate feces will be awarded these health points.
Through its participation in the "Tsuruoka Health Point" program, Metagen Therapeutics aims to further popularize fecal donation and contribute to raising citizens' health awareness.
**■ Overview of "Tsuruoka Health Point" Certification**
(1) Points (2 points each) will be added for participating in the following three steps conducted by Metagen Therapeutics.
- Web questionnaire within the gut microbiome donor support service "Chomusubi"
- Testing for donor registration/renewal
- Fecal donation at the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room
(2) Participants in the target project collect points by selecting the activities they have undertaken, using the Tsuruoka City official LINE account or a paper point card available at Tsuruoka City counters.
(3) Metagen Therapeutics will continuously promote and disseminate information about the health point project at the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room, etc.
Regarding this certification, Narumi Ishizawa, Head of the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room at Metagen Therapeutics Inc., stated the following:
"Since the opening of the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room in April 2025, thanks to the warm cooperation of everyone in Tsuruoka and Shonai, we have received over 1,200 fecal donations. We believe that the fecal donation initiative not only contributes to patients' treatments through gut bacteria but also provides an opportunity for donors themselves to confront their own health conditions. We are very pleased that fecal donation has been certified as a target project for the 'Tsuruoka Health Point' program this time. Metagen Therapeutics hopes to continue tackling the challenge of new drug development while promoting activities aimed at improving the health of the citizens of Tsuruoka City."
Additionally, a representative from the Health Division/Sports Division of Tsuruoka City stated:
"The Tsuruoka Health Point is a new project fully launched in April 2025. A feature of this project is that citizens can easily participate and engage via the Tsuruoka City LINE account, and we have garnered interest from many, with approximately 1,000 registered LINE participants. From FY2026, working with Metagen Therapeutics Inc. as a point target..."
The "Tsuruoka Health Point" is a system implemented by Tsuruoka City from April 2025, where points are awarded for health-promoting actions such as undergoing health checkups or participating in exercise events. It targets residents or workers in Tsuruoka City, who can acquire points via the Tsuruoka City official LINE account, etc., and souvenirs are given to winners through a lottery that they can enter every time they reach 40 points (40, 80, 120 points).
The "fecal donation" certified this time is a new social contribution initiative where people with healthy gut environments provide their own feces for the development of new drugs utilizing gut bacteria found in feces. Metagen Therapeutics opened Japan's first fecal donation facility, the "Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room", in Tsuruoka City in April 2025, and has been seeking fecal donations from "gut microbiome donors" residing in the Shonai region.
From April 1, 2026, residents or workers in Tsuruoka City who apply to be a gut microbiome donor (answering a web questionnaire), undergo tests for donor registration, or donate feces will be awarded these health points.
Through its participation in the "Tsuruoka Health Point" program, Metagen Therapeutics aims to further popularize fecal donation and contribute to raising citizens' health awareness.
**■ Overview of "Tsuruoka Health Point" Certification**
(1) Points (2 points each) will be added for participating in the following three steps conducted by Metagen Therapeutics.
- Web questionnaire within the gut microbiome donor support service "Chomusubi"
- Testing for donor registration/renewal
- Fecal donation at the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room
(2) Participants in the target project collect points by selecting the activities they have undertaken, using the Tsuruoka City official LINE account or a paper point card available at Tsuruoka City counters.
(3) Metagen Therapeutics will continuously promote and disseminate information about the health point project at the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room, etc.
Regarding this certification, Narumi Ishizawa, Head of the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room at Metagen Therapeutics Inc., stated the following:
"Since the opening of the Tsuruoka Fecal Donation Room in April 2025, thanks to the warm cooperation of everyone in Tsuruoka and Shonai, we have received over 1,200 fecal donations. We believe that the fecal donation initiative not only contributes to patients' treatments through gut bacteria but also provides an opportunity for donors themselves to confront their own health conditions. We are very pleased that fecal donation has been certified as a target project for the 'Tsuruoka Health Point' program this time. Metagen Therapeutics hopes to continue tackling the challenge of new drug development while promoting activities aimed at improving the health of the citizens of Tsuruoka City."
Additionally, a representative from the Health Division/Sports Division of Tsuruoka City stated:
"The Tsuruoka Health Point is a new project fully launched in April 2025. A feature of this project is that citizens can easily participate and engage via the Tsuruoka City LINE account, and we have garnered interest from many, with approximately 1,000 registered LINE participants. From FY2026, working with Metagen Therapeutics Inc. as a point target..."