My History
At the age of 22, I graduated from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and became a licensed pharmacist. While working at a dispensing pharmacy after graduation, I began to aspire to one day own a pharmacy of my own. To make that dream a reality, I decided to gain a deeper understanding of pharmacy operations and improve my ability to adapt to various challenges. I transferred to a pharmaceutical company to gain sales experience, and four and a half years after graduating from university, I finally established a pharmacy management corporation and became independent at the age of 27.
In 2007, I founded what is now H2 STATION Co., Ltd. As of 2025, the company has grown to operate 23 pharmacies. Around that time, my personal life also changed significantly—I got married and had children—which gave me the opportunity to reflect deeply on both my professional and personal priorities.
When I launched my pharmacy, my constant focus was on building one that could stand firmly as a business, become rooted in the local community, earn long-term trust, and provide a sense of reassurance to everyone who visited. I believe that cultivating and reinforcing these values over time has shaped the pharmacies we operate today.
In addition to operating our own pharmacies, one of our distinguishing features as a company is our consulting business, which supports pharmacists and physicians who aspire to open their own pharmacies or clinics. Many have the desire to become independent but lack the know-how to do so. For me, being able to share my experience and knowledge to help these individuals achieve their goals is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work.
The Present
Today, one of our top priorities is improving the working environment for our frontline staff. I believe that addressing challenges as a company always requires close communication and collaboration with our team members, and I want every employee who works with us to feel comfortable and motivated in their workplace. That’s why understanding what concerns or difficulties our staff may be facing is so important.
Like any job, there are ups and downs, and difficult times inevitably arise. Even so, I want to create an environment where our employees feel encouraged to stay and keep doing their best. While it’s impossible to make everything perfect, my goal is to build an organization where people can still feel satisfied and fulfilled in their work.
One of our recent initiatives is an anonymous employee satisfaction survey conducted every three months. Staff members can freely write their thoughts and feedback about the company. Once we began this initiative, we received a wide range of responses—from highly positive comments to serious concerns. We carefully analyze these results and take tangible steps to improve the workplace. As a result, the next round of surveys often shows a noticeable increase in satisfaction. This ongoing process not only helps us better understand each other’s perspectives but also allows us to respond quickly when problems arise, while reducing the sense of isolation some employees might feel. Over time, staff satisfaction has grown, fostering both a sense of belonging and confidence that “this is a company where I can keep working.” Looking back, I’m truly glad we continued this initiative. It has helped attract people who understand and align with our company’s values, creating a positive cycle that strengthens our organization as a whole.
For the Future
One Sunday morning, I heard a phrase on a news program that left a deep impression on me: “Progress is the correction of injustice.” When you think about it, both Japan and the United States were full of injustices 150 or 200 years ago—things we can hardly imagine today. Over time, society has evolved by solving problems and moving closer to a fairer, more humane world.
In the context of business, this evolution is evident in the improvement of working conditions. Today, employees have more choices and greater freedom in how they work. For example, just ten years ago, the concept of paternity leave was almost nonexistent in most companies. Yet today, in our company, the paternity leave acquisition rate is 100%, and we actively encourage it.
Thanks to national labor policies and the efforts of many companies, the workplace has become far more equitable and flexible than ever before. But society continues to change, and we must continue to evolve as well. To build a better future—for both society and our employees—we cannot simply impose existing systems. Instead, we must propose new ideas and continually improve. At H2 STATION, we believe that the key to the future lies in embracing change rather than fearing it. To become a company that is even better — beyond what we can imagine today — ten years from now, we must start by solving the challenges in front of us, transforming our mindset, and creating new values that will guide us toward the next stage of growth.