Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Creating liberating content

President Trump fired the two Democratic members of the Federal

Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman and a son of former

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the just-concluded

Related News

President Trump fired the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, a rejection of the corporate regulator’s traditional independence that will clear the way for the administration’s

Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman and a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, said on Tuesday that he would seek political asylum in the United States, claiming he is the

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the just-concluded Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, and said the gathering of millions, just like the consecration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, marked

File photo of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin (Pic credit: AP) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a high-stakes 90-minute call on

Prince Harry’s visa documents have been made public and it shows there was no preferential treatment for granting him US visa. Prince Harry does not have the risk of being

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Pic credit: AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said that Ukraine was favourable to a US-proposed ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure, which Russian President

Trending News

Gold prices surged by Rs 500, reaching a record high of Rs 91,250 per 10 grams in the national capital on Tuesday. This increase was driven by continued buying from

MUMBAI: RBI has pumped in over Rs 5 lakh crore into the banking system since mid-Jan through bond purchases, forex swaps and early-April maturity repos. To ensure that liquidity remains

Top stocks to buy (AI image) Stock market recommendations: According to Somil Mehta, Head – Alternate Research, Capital Market Strategy, Mirae Asset Sharekhan, Trent and Bharat Forge are the top

NEW DELHI: India’s trade deficit has narrowed to a 42-month low of $14 billion in Feb 2025, thanks primarily to imports slowing to $51 billion, data released by the commerce

US President Trump with PM Modi NEW DELHI: Amid US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, India is engaging with the US to find ways of increasing trade and discussing the

Bajaj to buy out Allianz’s stakes in insurance joint ventures MUMBAI: In the biggest insurance sector deal in India, Bajaj group will buy out Allianz’s 26% stakes in their life

A company in Japan explains

Word Count: 426 | Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes


Mikio Okumura, group CEO and president of Sompo Holdings Inc.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Sompo Holdings, Inc., one of Japan’s biggest insurance companies, says it’s using artificial intelligence to help alleviate a critical shortage of workers needed to care for the country’s aging population.

AI and other technology can replace tasks normally performed by people while simultaneously improving nursing care services, Group CEO Mikio Okumura told CNBC’s “Managing Asia.”

He cited sleep measurement sensors as one example.

“In the past, our caregivers [had to] visit each room to check sleep status … But instead of visiting, by caregivers, we set a sensor in a bed so that we can monitor from the office,” he said.

“Also, we can check the quality of sleep every minute, so if it deteriorates — the quality of sleep — we can check what we can change, for example, meal or activities.”

Okumura said paperwork can consume 20%-25% of nursing care workers’ time, he said.

“We are introducing some digital technology to eliminate paperwork, so that caregivers can focus,” he said. “We are trying to improve the efficiency, and also we are trying to improve quality of services using technology.”

Japan’s elderly population hit a record-high of 36.25 million in 2024, the same year that its birth rate reached a record low. Residents of Japan also have one of the longest life expectancies in the world, with older generations continuing to live longer than previous ones, said Okumura.

Growth outside of Japan

Sompo Holdings announced in February a restructuring plan, effective April 1, that will see the company condense its four business units to two: “Sompo Property and Casualty” and “Sompo Wellbeing.” 

Sompo Wellbeing includes the company’s Japan-based nursing services and life insurance businesses.

But Okumura told CNBC’s Christine Tan that its property and casualty arm is where Okumura foresees the biggest growth — mostly from international markets.

“By 2030, we plan to double profit, and also market cap … maybe 80% will come from Sompo P&C and 20% from Wellbeing,” he said, adding that “40% of the profit will come the from domestic market in Japan, and 60% from outside of Japan.”

Okumura said one of the biggest challenges for the company is Japan’s shrinking population.

“When I was born, in 1965, the number of new babies was 1.8 million. But today only 700,000,” he said. “It’s impossible to see a growing population in the future, so … we expect the overseas business is the growth driver for Sompo.”

The company does not plan on expanding Sompo’s wellbeing services overseas though, due to differences in culture, regulation and social security systems, Okumura said.



Source link

Most Popular Articles

Sign In

Welcome ! Log into Your Account