Special Medico

What Special Medico does

Special Medico (株式会社Special Medico®) is a Tokyo-based private medical-staffing firm founded on December 25, 2012, that operates a multi-brand marketplace matching physicians with Japanese medical institutions and corporate clients. The company holds a Paid Employment Placement License (紹)13-ﾕ-305880 and a Worker Dispatch License (派)13-314377, and runs sub-brands including Hanamaru Sensei (general physician jobs, 2,000+ monthly listings), Manako Sensei (Tokai region), Gatten Sensei (female physicians), and Jin Sensei (occupational health physicians, reporting 98% five-year client retention). It supplements placement with the "Oshiet Sensei" radio program on FM Aichi, an editorial column (SP Kawaraban), and the "Machibotaru" emergency-contact service system.

The company generates revenue exclusively through transactional commissions: 20% on spot health-checkup placements, 10% on regular part-time/duty shifts, and 20% on full-time placements. Demand is fragmented across hospitals, clinics, and corporate occupational-health buyers, with no anchor customers disclosed. The firm has accumulated 15 patents and 9 registered trademarks, holds ISO/IEC 27001:2013, JIS Q 27001:2014, and Privacy Mark certifications, and is led by Representative Director Kanai Makoto (金井誠) alongside three directors including two PhDs.

Name

Special Medico

Legal name

株式会社Special Medico®

Website

https://spmedico.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Special Medico is a Tokyo-based physician-staffing firm founded in 2012 that operates multiple sub-brands to place general, female, and occupational-health doctors with Japanese medical institutions and corporate clients, earning 10–20% placement commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Staffing & Physician Placement Services

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Clinical Direct Hire (Nursing/Allied/Physicians) (BPACAFAH)

Keywords

• Physician recruitment
• Medical staffing services
• Occupational health physician
• Doctor placement agency
• Health checkup staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 医師紹介手数料 (Doctor Introduction Fees): Commission-based revenue from introducing doctors to medical institutions and corporations. Fees are charged as a percentage of the doctor's compensation.
2. 有料職業紹介事業 (Fee-based Employment Placement): Permanent placement and part-time introduction services for doctors. Commission rates vary by employment type: 20% for spot health checkup work, 10% for regular part-time/duty shifts, 20% for full-time positions based on theoretical annual income.
3. 人材派遣事業 (Staffing Services): Worker dispatch services under license (派)13-314377 for providing medical personnel to enterprises and facilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Special Medico is a physician placement and medical staffing company that connects doctors with medical institutions, corporations requiring occupational health physicians (産業医), and enterprises needing health checkup (健康診断) services across Japan. It operates multiple branded doctor job-board platforms segmented by doctor profile (general, female, Tokai region) and demand type (occupational health), earning commission-based fees on placements and worker dispatch arrangements under its Paid Employment Placement and Worker Dispatch licenses.

Product overview

Special Medico operates a multi-brand medical staffing platform comprising five distinct doctor recruitment services: the core Special Medico platform for general physician staffing and occupational health physician introductions; はなまるせんせい® (Hanamaru Sensei) as the flagship medical examination job marketplace with 2,000+ monthly postings; まなこせんせい (Manako Sensei) targeting the Tokai region with commute support; がってんせんせい® (Gatten Sensei) specializing in female physician placement with childcare support; and 仁せんせい® (Jin Sensei) focused on occupational health physician placement with 98% retention rate. The platform also includes a radio program (おしえて先生) and content column (SPかわら版).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• はなまるせんせい®: Latest physician recruitment information site - general physician job listings
• まなこせんせい
• がってんせんせい®
• 仁せんせい®

Products and services

• Special Medico (株式会社Special Medico®) Core Physician Placement Service
• Hanamaru Sensei (はなまるせんせい®)
• Manako Sensei (まなこせんせい)
• Gatten Sensei (がってんせんせい®)
• Jin Sensei (仁せんせい®)

Quantifiable outcome

• 98%+ 5-year contract retention rate for occupational health physicians
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MRT Inc. Japanese physician-focused staffing and community platform connecting doctors with hospitals and corporations. Highly comparable business model, target customer (Japanese physicians), and occupational health vertical exposure.
• T-PEC Corporation: Japanese physician placement and occupational health staffing firm serving medical institutions and corporations. Direct competitor in the same regulatory and customer framework.
• Doctor Smile: Japanese doctor recruitment service operated by Medipeer, providing physician job matching and career support. Direct overlap in physician placement services within the Japanese market.
• MedPro (メドプロ): Japanese healthcare staffing firm specializing in physician, nurse, and pharmacist placement. Closely comparable in service mix and Japanese regulatory compliance focus.
• JOBSPECT: Japanese online physician recruitment marketplace focused on matching doctors with hospitals and clinics. Direct platform-model peer with comparable two-sided marketplace structure.

Broad incumbents

• M3, Inc. Large Japanese healthcare platform operating MR-kun (physician recruitment), medical media, and clinical decision support. Competes directly in physician placement while offering much broader healthcare services.
• Mynavi Corporation: One of Japan's largest HR and recruitment firms with a dedicated medical division. Competes via scale, brand, and broader job-seeker reach across all professional verticals.
• Recruit Holdings: Japan-headquartered global HR tech giant (Indeed, LinkedIn owner historically) operating job boards and staffing across verticals including healthcare. Indirect but significant competitive threat as it expands into medical categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SpecialMedico
• Xx.com/special_medico
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/special-medico

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Special Medico