[Japan First] Corporate Group Supporting Local Economy in East Mikawa × Startup Co-creation! Launching Verification of Sustainable Workplace Environment Creation through "Bereavement Support"

The Sala Group, which consists of 48 life-related companies with Sala Corporation (Headquarters: Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture; Representative Director: Goro Kamino, hereinafter "the Company") as its holding company, announces its participation in the "Bereavement and Productivity" verification experiment led by Waterhuman Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Akimitsu Shintani, hereinafter "Waterhuman") as part of a corporate alliance in the East Mikawa region (eastern Aichi Prefecture). Since ancient times, Japanese society has supported bereaved families through regional ties and traditional rituals. However, due to the recent "dilution of regional communities" and the shift toward "nuclear families," these burdens have been steadily increasing. Furthermore, we face a "society with high death rates" where many people are expected to face the death of a relative within the next five years, alongside the "aging of the labor population" due to labor shortages. Against this backdrop, the number of "working mourners" who must juggle complicated procedures and grief alongside work is surging, making this an urgent issue for society as a whole. In this modern era, "mental care" and "reduction of practical burdens" for employees who become "working mourners" have become critical management issues that dictate corporate sustainability. ✦ "Co-creation" in East Mikawa This verification experiment originated from "emCAMPUS STUDIO," a co-creation hub in East Mikawa operated by the Sala Group. While Waterhuman struggled to develop verification fields on its own, emCAMPUS STUDIO, which provides support for challengers aiming to start businesses in East Mikawa, acted as a bridge. Seven local companies in East Mikawa—a region with a high concentration of manufacturing and logistics industries supported by the local economy and honest business owners—responded to the company's vision, leading to this collaboration. It has become an initiative demonstrating that "East Mikawa has the soil to connect startup challenges with social implementation." Starting from emCAMPUS STUDIO, we will create new value to support working people carrying "sorrow" from East Mikawa, updating this region into "the most supportive region for 'challengers' and the most friendly for 'working people' in Japan." Novelty of Co-creation through the "East Mikawa Model" The scheme where "a co-creation hub operated by a core regional company serves as a hub, connecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of different industries to simultaneously verify a single startup's service" possesses unprecedented novelty. 1. Resolving "Search Costs" and "Verification Risks" for SMEs SMEs lack the resources to individually find new startup services and verify their effectiveness. By having a core company act as a "connoisseur" and multiple SMEs verifying simultaneously, they can enjoy cutting-edge services across the region while minimizing the cost and risk per company. 2. Ensuring Statistical Superiority While bereavement cases at a single SME might be limited to a few per year, by forming an alliance of multiple companies, multifaceted data can be gathered in a short period, enabling meaningful analysis. This applies equally to verification experiments for other services. 3. A "Private"-led Ecosystem, Not "Government" Regional projects are often led by the government, but this project is an autonomous alliance based on the trust relationships (regional ties) between local private companies. This enables flexible verification tailored to the field. ✦ Challenges Waterhuman is Addressing 1. The Arrival of a High-Death-Rate Society: All Employees to Become Bereaved Families by 2030 Japanese society is currently in a transition period toward an unprecedented "high-death-rate society." According to research by Professor Carl Becker (Professor Emeritus and Researcher at Kyoto University), an advisor to this verification experiment, it is predicted that most of the working population will face the death of a close person within the next five years. With an eye toward the inevitable future where "all workers will become bereaved families by 2030," we aim to establish urgent preparations in local communities and companies. 2. Economic Loss of "Approximately 3 Trillion Yen": Bereavement Grief as a Management Issue Professor Becker also notes that grief from bereavement is prone to leading to decreased productivity and physical/mental health issues, and without proper care, approximately 20% of bereaved families fall into serious mental health conditions. It is estimated that economic losses due to bereavement grief reach a scale of approximately 3 trillion yen across Japan, and with labor shortages becoming more serious, issues accompanying bereavement are no longer individual problems but "management issues" that dictate corporate sustainability. 3. A New Safety Net That Does Not Isolate "Working Mourners" In the modern era, where mutual aid through regional and blood ties has weakened, cases where complicated post-death procedures and psychological burdens are concentrated on individuals, deepening their isolation, are increasing. Common "few-day bereavement leaves" provided by companies to employees cannot cover the burden of administrative procedures and mental recovery that take several months. Based on scientific evidence, Waterhuman aims to build a mechanism to fill this gap, establishing a new safety net that protects Japan's productivity and the dignity of working people. [Pre-survey(*) shows that approximately 70% of those with bereavement experience answered they "want support from their workplace"] (Charts and survey data provided in original text omitted here for text-only output) ✦ Overview of This Verification Experiment Japan's First Empirical Approach to "Bereavement and Productivity" This verification experiment aims to clarify the relationship between the "actual situation during bereavement leave" and "post-return productivity," which had not been sufficiently accumulated as data in Japanese companies and was rarely considered as a target for improvement, based on empirical data. Period: March 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026 Target: 7 companies in the East Mikawa region Services Provided: Provision of a "post-death procedure list" created according to the situation after individual interviews with employees on bereavement leave, and provision of a chat-based individual consultation desk. Verification Details: This experiment will acquire and analyze "bereavement-related data" from the following three perspectives: - Visualization of costs in bereavement (quantitative data) - Impact of bereavement grief on individual productivity (qualitative data) - Estimation of long-term impact on turnover rates and engagement scores Verification Method: - Corporate records (occurrence-based): Recording "number of bereavement cases," "days of bereavement leave taken," "number of additional paid/half-day leaves taken," etc., in a management sheet. - Questionnaire surveys: - For managers: Field burden due to vacancies, performance after return (subjective evaluation), etc. - For users: Time required for procedures, psychological burden, satisfaction with support, etc. ✦ Comments from Participating Companies (Statements from Sala Group/emCAMPUS STUDIO, Sala Logistics, Shin-Nichi Industry, Subaru East Aichi Sales, Toyohashi Woodworking, Chubu Synthetic Resin Industry, Marushime, Yamasan, Waterhuman, and Professor Carl Becker are included in the source.) ■ About emCAMPUS STUDIO emCAMPUS STUDIO is an incubation facility operated by Sala Corporation. Under the concept of "Co-creation," which means creating new value together, it provides four main services: "Learning Programs," "Challenge Support," "Meeting Room Rentals," and "Co-working Spaces." To realize a rich future for East Mikawa, it works to support business creation that leads to a vibrant life in the region. [Website] https://www.em-campus.jp/studio/ * Regarding the "Japan First" notation: As a verification experiment where a co-creation hub operated by a core regional company acts as a hub, connecting SMEs of different industries, and using a startup's specialized knowledge to aim for sustainable workplace environment creation (March 2026, research by Waterhuman Inc. based on internal research using major press release distribution services and news search engines). emCAMPUS STUDIO Address: emCAMPUS EAST 5F, 2-81 Ekimae Odori, Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture TEL: 0532-57-5016 Mail: studio@em-campus.jp