Market Overview

FemTech (a coined term of female and technology) refers to the technology-based products and services that are geared toward health issues and lifestyle needs of women, and the market related to FemTech has been vibrant.

Against the background of women’s empowerment and a tendency to marry later in life, enterprises (mainly startups) have been developing products and services to improve women’s quality of life by addressing stigmatized topics associated with women’s health that are once considered taboo and reducing the issue of gender inequality. The idea of FemTech gained recognition in Japan in 2021, as major companies entered the market, the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace came into force, and societal awareness for SDGs increased. With more and more Japanese companies enhancing their benefits package to address health concerns unique to their female workers, the market is on an expanding trend.

The FemTech covers a wide range of women’s health concerns, which is broadly classified into two types: events unique to women’s life stages (menstruation/PMS, infertility, pregnancy/ postpartum care, and menopause), and issues that may occur regardless of age (sexual wellness* and gynecological disorders like breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and cervical cancer).

* “Sexual wellness (sexual health)” refers to a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality.

Noteworthy Topics

FemTech in Public Services and Corporate Benefit Packages: Going onto One-stop Healthcare/Medical Service

Low visibility had been a hindrance for penetration of online health/medical consultation in Japan. Nonetheless, under the novel coronavirus situation, remote healthcare service gained public recognition, and it increased the online health/medical consultation for women as corporate benefits and public service. Telehealth usage is expected to expand hereafter.

Enterprises that offer online health/medical consultation service have been adding values to their service in the recent years, including online treatment, online drug instruction, provision of clinical test kits, and a chatbot to respond to frequently asked questions, etc. Chatbot is well received by users as it interacts quickly, and it also has an advantage for the providers to streamline their business operation. A rise of efficient and convenient one-stop health/medical services is expected to improve the access to appropriate medical services for persons in need of healthcare assistance. 

Future Outlook

In consideration of the projected development of various products and services, the FemTech market deserves further attention hereafter.

The Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, which was enacted in August 2015 and revised in May 2019, went into effect on April 1, 2022. With the legislation to improve working environment for women, companies are enhancing their health management and benefit programs for women inch by inch.

In addition, as a step to address the declining birthrate, which has been worsened since the outbreak of COVID-19 crisis that deepened future and economic uncertainty, favorable changes are witnessed in the social system such as insurance coverage to be extended to infertility treatment from April 2022. Since the FemTech not only benefits women by improving women's convenience/comfort and enriching their lives, but also gives positive impact on the society, the market is expected to expand into the future.

Research Outline