LEVANES Corporation, on behalf of the City of Sendai, is promoting the Sendai-Tohoku Expansion Program (STEP), which supports startups from Sendai and Tohoku to take on the challenge of solving global issues. As part of this program, a series of global business seminars ("Learn from the Pioneers of Global Expansion! series) are held from August to November.

7th: Global Business Seminar
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025 16:00-17:00
Place: Urbannet Sendai Chuo Building 4F/Conference Room C
Title: Going back many times to promote cooperation with local institutions
Organized by: City of Sendai, Operated by: Riverness Inc.

Special Lecture: Mr. Yukihiro Ishida, CEO, Second Heart Co.
Moderator: Nami Akinaga, Strategic Development Division, Liverness Corporation

Aiming to solve local medical issues by building trust through repeated visits to the site and action.

Mr. Yukihiro Ishida, CEO of Second Heart Corporation, which aims to achieve zero amputation of legs due to diabetes, spoke on the topic of "Promoting Collaboration with Local Institutions through Repeated Travel," sharing his knowledge gained through continuous travel to the region with a wealth of practical examples. Specifically, he overcame the barriers of the Malaysia Tech Entrepreneur Programme (MTEP) system and incorporation, as well as demonstrations with government agencies, through frequent travel and building local relationships. Second Heart has clearly articulated the resolution of the local issue of reducing healthcare costs in its language and has solidified the foundation for promoting global expansion with Malaysia as a starting point.

⸻ The shortest route is to "go through": institutions, connections, and luck.

 The initial steps of an overseas business, such as obtaining a visa (MTEP), a bank account, and a resident director, can be a struggle with documents. The key is to actually go to the site many times and build relationships with reliable local partners and government agencies. The number of times you travel the distance, including the subtleties of interviews and emergency coordination, will enhance resolution and breakthrough.

⸻ Provide value based on the real experience in the field

Since medical costs are rising rapidly in Malaysia due to the increase in diabetes, the company appealed for value by estimating that a "10% reduction in medical costs" is possible for foot lesions, which have a high fatality rate and a shortage of specialized human resources. The construction of a story that both improved patients' quality of life and reduced public spending led to a POC/MOU (Proof of Concept/Memorandum of Understanding) with the Social Security Organization and dialysis facilities.

 ⸻ 3. "Just right" hub design: horizontal development from Malaysia

Malaysia is a country with a perfect balance of seriousness of medical issues, flexibility of the system, friendliness to Japan, and its function as a hub for foreign companies. The company has implemented a strategy to shorten the start-up time by first building a "box (infrastructure)" through joint research with universities and by moving into the Center of Garage, and then injecting "people" and "projects" into the market. In the future, by expanding horizontally into larger markets such as India and Indonesia, the company intends to turn its realization that travel distance generates innovation into business growth.

Mr. Ishida has a strong desire to change the reality that every 20 seconds one person somewhere in the world loses a leg due to diabetes. From his practical case study, we learned that knowledge is updated through the accumulation of travel distances and encounters, leading to innovation. Another message was that even before commercializing a business in Japan, if there is a need in Southeast Asia, we should go there first. I believe that this message can be applied to any company, as businesses are born from where there is a need.

Click here to see the past implementation reports.

Session 1 Lecturer: Mr. Kengo Suzuki, Co-founder and Executive Fellow

Session 2 Lecturer: Mr. Shingo Akao, President, Ball Wave Corporation

Lecturer: Mr. Ken Matsui, CEO and Representative Director, ugo Co.

Lecturer: Mr. Hong-Kyung Min, President of Liberaware, Inc.

Lecturer: Mr. Hideaki Itami, Director, Asia Region, Platinum Bio Co.

Lecturer: Mr. Yota Takakura, CEO, Inoka Co.