Narrative Trust

What Narrative Trust does

Narrative Trust (ナラティブトラスト株式会社 / NARRATIVE TRUST CO., LTD.) is a Tokyo-based preventive healthcare services company founded on September 13, 2017. It operates a B2B2C platform that delivers pre-symptomatic disease screening and health-management services through Japan's community pharmacy network, working in close coordination with the Smart Healthcare Association (SHCA) and its 'Kenspo' (健康応援スポット / Health Support Spot) pharmacy certification framework. Its four service lines are: (1) medical cost optimization using medical and dispensing receipt (レセプト) data analysis to reduce inappropriate prescribing; (2) self-check testing services, principally HPV self-check kits for cervical cancer and ECG measurement for atrial fibrillation/cardiovascular risk; (3) training workshop services for pharmacy staff, delivered in collaboration with SHCA; and (4) disaster-response regional medical coordination services. Technology is built around receipt/claims analytics at its NTLab data center and integrates third-party hardware such as the Omron HCR-7800T ECG-enabled blood pressure monitor.

Revenue is generated through professional-services fees (cost-optimization programs for insurers and healthcare providers), hardware/kit sales (ECG devices, HPV self-check kits), service fees from pharmacy chain partners, program licensing, and training workshop fees. The go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven: the company contracts directly with pharmacy chains (Ain Pharmacy, Nanoka Pharmacy), prefectural pharmacist associations (Oita, Hokkaido), and local governments, then co-hponsors public health events (SHCA Symposiums, marathon health fairs) for demand generation. Customer segments are organized vertically into pharmacy/drugstore chains, local government health departments and pharmacist associations, and health insurers/public insurance bodies. Notable credentials include a Highly Controlled Medical Device Sales and Lending License (2021) and Privacy Mark certification (2021, renewed 2023). The company remains privately held and founder-led (CEO Yoshikiyo Fukui) with no disclosed institutional equity funding; a ¥5,000,000 Pfizer Japan grant for stroke follow-up care (2025) is the only disclosed external monetary inflow.

Name

Narrative Trust

Legal name

ナラティブトラスト株式会社

Website

https://narrativetrust.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Narrative Trust (founded 2017, Tokyo) is a preventive-healthcare services company that delivers self-check testing (HPV, ECG), medical-receipt analytics, and pharmacy-staff training programs to Japanese pharmacy chains and pharmacist associations, operating through the SHCA 'Kenspo' certification framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Healthcare Cost Optimization Services: Analysis of medical and dispensing receipt data to identify inappropriate medication reduction programs, supporting insurers and healthcare systems in reducing costs. Revenue is generated through service fees paid by public health insurers and healthcare organizations.
2. Testing/Screening Services: Provision of self-check testing programs (HPV self-check, ECG/heart rhythm screening) through pharmacy networks. Revenue derived from kit sales, service fees from partner pharmacies, and program licensing to pharmacy chains.
3. Training Workshop Services: Organization and support of training workshops for pharmacy staff on health screening program management, in collaboration with the Smart Healthcare Association (SHCA). Revenue through participant fees or sponsor contributions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Narrative Trust is a Japanese healthcare services startup that designs, deploys, and operates preventive health programs through community pharmacies and drugstores. Its offerings include medical-receipt and claims data analysis for polypharmacy reduction, HPV self-check testing for cervical cancer screening, ECG-based atrial fibrillation detection, pharmacy-staff training and certification (Kenspo), and disaster-response medical coordination — delivered through B2B partnerships with pharmacy chains, pharmacist associations, and local governments.

Product overview

Narrative Trust operates a multi-service healthcare platform focused on extending healthy life expectancy through pre-symptomatic disease prevention. The company offers four main service lines: (1) Medical Cost Optimization services using record analysis, (2) Testing services including HPV self-check testing and ECG measurement, (3) Training services for pharmacies on prevention programs, and (4) Disaster medical support coordination. Services are delivered through partnerships with pharmacies, drugstores, local governments, and healthcare associations, with the company also providing support for the Smart Healthcare Association's 'Kenspo' certification program for health promotion facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NTLab: Data Analysis Center operated by the company, located in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. Handles data analysis operations.

Products and services

• Medical Cost Optimization Service (医療費適正化事業)
• Self-Check Testing Service (検査事業)

Quantifiable outcome

• Cervical cancer screening participation increased through pharmacy-based awareness campaigns in Niigata (50 facilities) and nationally through SHCA Kenspo network
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core, minor and flagship.

• Oita Prefecture Pharmaceutical Association / 大分県薬剤師会majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 February 2025Co-hosted ECG measurement health fair at the Bettedai Walk 2025 sports event (2,500+ participants), with Narrative Trust providing operational support and equipment logistics. Demonstrates the association-based distribution model.
• Daichiku / 株式会社ダイチク (Ain Group subsidiary)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 September 2024Daichiku, a subsidiary of Ain Group, launched cervical cancer awareness programs across 50 pharmacies in Niigata Prefecture, using Narrative Trust's program design and SHCA Kenspo framework.
• Ain Pharmacy / アイン薬局 (Ain Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 March 2024Major pharmacy chain deploying Narrative Trust's cardiovascular screening (ECG) services across 113 Hokkaido stores and cervical cancer awareness programs across 50 Niigata stores. Represents the company's largest pharmacy chain deployment.
• Jissitsu University / 就実大学minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2024Partner university for online medication guidance (オンライン服薬指導) educational content developed by Narrative Trust under MEXT's 'Medical Personnel Training with Digital Health' grant program. Content also adopted by Kyushu University and Nagasaki University.
• Kyushu University / 九州大学minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2024One of three universities that adopted Narrative Trust-developed online medication guidance educational content under MEXT's digital health training grant program.
• Nagasaki University / 長崎大学minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2024One of three universities that adopted Narrative Trust-developed online medication guidance educational content under MEXT's digital health training grant program.
• Omron Healthcare / オムロンヘルスケア株式会社coreTechnology or Integration · 22 March 2022Technology partner providing the HCR-7800T upper-arm blood pressure monitor with built-in ECG function — the primary hardware device used in Narrative Trust's cardiovascular screening programs at pharmacies. Omron announced this as Japan's first such device. Narrative Trust and SHCA collaborate on the downstream 'brain-cardiovascular disease prevention awareness campaign' using this hardware.
• Japan Stroke Association / 公益社団法人日本脳卒中協会majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2021Entered a business partnership for pharmacy-based stroke prevention awareness campaigns. JSA operates across all 47 prefectures; the partnership enables nationwide community health education leveraging the Kenspo pharmacy network.
• NPO Hokkaido Medical Coordination Network / NPO北海道医療連携ネットワーク協議会coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2021Strategic partner for the atrial fibrillation early detection program. Enables the pharmacy-to-clinic referral pathway by coordinating between pharmacy screening results and regional medical institutions. Partnered on Hokkaido-wide ECG screening rollout.
• Nanoka Pharmacy East Japan / 株式会社なの花東日本coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 April 2019Early-stage partner for HPV self-check testing pilot across 18 Kanto-region stores starting April 2019. Nanoka's executive (石山健治, Director) also serves as a Narrative Trust advisor.
• Smart Healthcare Association / 一般社団法人スマートヘルスケア協会 (SHCA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 September 2017Core strategic partner for the company's service delivery model. SHCA operates the Kenspo (健康応援スポット) pharmacy certification program. Narrative Trust supports SHCA program construction, operations, manager training, logistics, and event organization (including annual SHCA Symposia). This is the primary platform through which all Narrative Trust services are delivered nationally.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cosmos Pharmaceutical: Large Japanese drugstore chain focused on discount health, beauty, and daily necessities, with growing pharmacy and preventive health offerings. Operates in the same retail pharmacy + preventive services space that Narrative Trust's programs address.
• Tsuruha Holdings: Major Japanese drugstore chain with broad health and wellness offerings including in-store health consultations and screening events. Comparable to Narrative Trust's pharmacy-led preventive health service model as both operate at the intersection of retail pharmacy and consumer health.
• Welcia Holdings: One of Japan's largest drugstore/pharmacy chains (over 2,800 stores) that offers in-store health screening, medication consultations, and preventive health services. A Welcia Holdings pharmaceutical affairs advisor (Iizuka Kenzo) sits on Narrative Trust's advisory board, making Welcia both a potential customer and a benchmark for what an in-house pharmacy preventive health program looks like at scale.
• Sundrug: Major Japanese drugstore chain with preventive health and wellness offerings in stores nationwide. Comparable as a pharmacy-led health services operator that Narrative Trust's platform could in theory serve.
• Matsukiyococokara & Co: Largest drugstore chain operator in Japan (formed by 2021 merger of Matsumoto Kiyoshi and Cocokara Fine). Operates thousands of stores with expanding health consultation and screening services, providing scale benchmarks for pharmacy-based preventive health offerings that Narrative Trust enables for smaller chains.
• M3 Inc. Diversified Japanese digital health platform spanning physician communities, clinical trial services, and consumer health. Adjacent in operating model — tech-enabled services to healthcare providers — though focused on physicians rather than pharmacies.

Emerging players

• JMDC Inc. Japan's leading health data analytics company, aggregating medical claims, DPC, and health checkup data to support payers and providers. Comparable to Narrative Trust's receipt/claims data analysis service line for medical cost optimization.

Direct peers

• Ain Holdings: Parent of Ain Pharmacy, Narrative Trust's largest deployment partner (113 Hokkaido stores with ECG screening, 50 Niigata stores with cervical cancer awareness). Operates one of Japan's largest dispensing pharmacy networks and is both a critical customer and a structural benchmark for what a fully-integrated pharmacy-based preventive health offering looks like in Japan.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Narrative Trust