TOKYO: Japan’s industry ministry is stepping up support to companies helping working women with “femtech” products and services, which utilize advanced technologies to address women’s health problems.

In fiscal 2021, which started in April last year, the ministry launched a project to help such companies test their products and services. It chose 20 companies for the project, including those offering online medical consultation and telemedicine services.

The project is aimed at allowing people to try femtech, a portmanteau of female and technology, and helping such companies expand their businesses.

FamiOne Inc., which offers consultation service allowing users to hear experts’ opinions on fertility treatment and other problems via messaging app Line, has conducted online seminars on a trial basis under the ministry’s project.

The seminars were aimed at helping people struggling with infertility and local government officials to acquire basic knowledge about fertility treatment.

Some participants said that they were able to learn how hard it is for people to keep receiving fertility treatment. Some municipalities are considering securing budgets to let residents use the Tokyo-based company’s consultation for free.

The seminars also included speeches on topics such as the menopause and sex education. “We were able to confirm that such seminars meet the needs of people and local governments,” said Yusuke Ishikawa, chief of FamiOne. The company plans to expand its areas of consultation.

Melody International Ltd., a medical equipment developer, is joining hands with the town of Yoichi, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, to offer perinatal care remotely.

As there is no maternity clinic in the town, pregnant women there need to go to the neighboring city of Otaru for prenatal checkups. It is not easy for working women to find time to visit hospitals in Otaru regularly.

Using the ministry’s program, Melody International, based in Takamatsu in the western prefecture of Kagawa, tested the use of its mobile birth monitoring device in Yoichi.

The device is put on women in late pregnancy, and doctors in Otaru check data collected by the device, including fetal heart rate and levels of abdominal tension.

“Doctors are steadily decreasing in rural areas in number,” said Keiji Ninomiya, chief information officer at Melody International. Collaboration between urban and rural areas “may support perinatal care that has been weakening,” Ninomiya said.

Some estimates show that women who leave jobs or give up promotions due to periods, fertility treatment or the menopause lose around 2 trillion yen in wages a year. The ministry aims to address the issue by supporting femtech companies.

JIJI Press