C-HAS+: Cultivating Local Prosperity
ISSUE 11: The Ecosystem of Education, Employment, and Belonging in Kumamoto
Article Highlights
🌟 Earthquake to Ecosystem: The Birth of C-HAS+ Co., Ltd.
🌟 A Living Example of SIIFIC’s Investment Theme 4: From Local Jobs to Lasting Belonging
🌟 Three Lenses of Impact: Job creation, Economic growth, and Quality of life
🌟 Educational Innovation and Inclusive Leadership: Student employment outcomes from data and Interview stories
🌟 Why Regional Impact Matters: Community and International faculty experiences
🧠 From Crisis to Innovation
In the wake of the devastating 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, amidst collapsed buildings and fractured lives, a seed of innovation was planted. C-HAS+ Co., Ltd. (”C-HAS+”) emerged not merely as a startup, but as a testament to community resilience. Anchored in Kumamoto’s rich natural resources, agricultural heritage, and academic strengths, the company integrates modern technology, such as C.elegans healthy lifespan monitoring systems, with traditional medicinal wisdom.
Initially funded under Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Regional Innovation Ecosystem Formation Program, the company began in 2017 as the “UpRod (Useful and Unique Natural Products for Drug Discovery and Development) Project”1. It evolved into Kumamoto Pharma Co., Ltd. in 2019, and eventually became C-HAS+ Co., Ltd. in 2022 to ask not what future is possible for Kumamoto, but rather what future Kumamoto can lead.
SIIFIC saw more than just commercial potential in C-HAS+; it recognized a catalyst for regional revitalization. The company represents a commitment to reversing urban migration, nurturing purpose-driven careers, and fostering inclusive workplaces, especially for young people and women. These goals align seamlessly with SIIFIC’s Investment Theme 4: Startups that create jobs in regional areas and foster vibrant, livable communities.
Following SIIFIC’s recent investment in C-HAS+, we had the opportunity, as interns, to visit the Pharmaceutical Building at Kumamoto University. During this field visit, we interviewed the President/COO, CSO, staff members, and interns of C-HAS+, as well as faculty and students at Kumamoto University. With a very warm welcome, our goal was to gain deeper insights into SIIFIC’s Investment Theme 4 and explore how the theme, as reflected in the unique system map (Figure 1), is being realized on the ground.
Investment Theme 4: From Local Jobs to Lasting Belonging
Startups that create jobs in regional areas and foster vibrant, livable communities.
More than a thematic category, this approach underscores SIIFIC’s wellness-oriented philosophy. In contrast to health-focused metrics alone, this theme addresses holistic human flourishing, blending career progression and fair compensation with purpose, social capital, and belonging.
🔎 Three Lenses on Impact
To understand the depth of C-HAS+’s influence, we examined its work through three lenses: job creation, economic growth, and quality of life. These insights emerged through on-site interviews, backed by employment data and contextualized within Japan’s biotech/pharmaceutical and academic ecosystem.
We will use our interview stories as a complementary narrative to employment data and the pharmaceutical industry context to capture the importance of Investment Theme 4 in relation to the integral elements of the system map.
🤝 1. Creating Meaningful Jobs
In Japan’s centralized academic funding landscape, regional universities often face an uphill battle. Unlike research giants such as the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, Kumamoto University must rely more heavily on the achievements of individual faculty and partnerships with ventures to secure resources. For students, this can create an environment that feels both competitive and uncertain.
Still, startups like C-HAS+ are beginning to shift that narrative.
While the company remains a small but growing enterprise with a modest direct hiring record, its presence on campus and close collaboration with faculty are powerful signals to students that meaningful, locally grounded career paths exist.
Dr. Shuto, President/COO of C-HAS+ and Associate Professor at Kumamoto University, shared that students consistently secure strong job placements after graduation. This success stems not only from exposure to startups like C-HAS+ but also from the structural strengths, particularly the flexibility of its 4 and 6-year pharmacy programs. These two options are typically offered at pharmacy schools in Japan: the 4-year program focuses on research, while the 6-year program is designed for clinical practice and obtaining a pharmacist license.
💡 Did You Know?
In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the Japanese government allocated ¥148.9 billion to AMED (Japan Agency for Medical R&D) through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT) to support university research, hospital research centers, and industry-academic partnerships2. There is additional support from KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research) and the MEXT Medical Research Support Program. As of the fiscal year 2023, the University of Tokyo alone received approximately 10% (¥21,791 million) of the total KAKENHI budget3.
Meanwhile, globalization in the 2000’s led to an accelerated migration of major pharmaceutical companies' R&D facilities to the United States. This shift occurred to access global talent from cutting-edge scientific institutions, avoid strict Japanese regulations, reduce foreign company taxation, gain clinical trial flexibility, and adapt to declining drug prices following the 1992 pricing method change and patent cliffs4.
In 2023, graduates from the School of Pharmacy pursued diverse career paths: 19 entered the pharmacy sector (at companies like General Medical, Nippon Dispensing, Ain Holdings, Welcia Pharmacy, K.R Pharmacy, and Shinseido Pharmacy), 4 joined other companies, 1 became a civil servant at the Miyazaki Prefecture Office, and 1 was classified as "Others”5.
During the interview, Dr. Shuto noted that while some students aspire to careers at major pharmaceutical companies, many ultimately find fulfilling positions at local Kumamoto clinics. This reality was consistently reflected in our interviews with students and faculty.
💬 C-HAS+ Ecosystem: Interview Voices
Dr. Shuto’s multiple roles, as Associate Professor, President/COO, father, husband, and mentor, have shaped his holistic and empathetic approach to education. He has fostered a sustainable employment ecosystem where students gain real-world experience alongside strong academic training, all while emphasizing the importance of community relationships and work-life balance.
Although C-HAS+ remains a small startup, its presence and ethos play a meaningful role in shaping a broader ecosystem that values practical experience, interdisciplinary thinking, and career-oriented growth.
The community-focused contributions of C-HAS+ result in a cohort of graduates equipped with practical skills, confidence, and perspective to thrive in an increasingly competitive job market.
👩🎓👨🎓Case 1: Students Voicing Job Realities
One of the two students we interviewed was a first-generation university student from Kumamoto. As an aspiring pharmacist in a hospital doing clinical work and research, she regrettably noted that the “famous” hospitals are in Tokyo and Osaka, which informs her desire to move away from Kumamoto.
📚Case 2: Interns Making Education Choices
This summer, there are four student interns, and two of them expressed aspirations of pursuing a pharmaceutical license, while the other two were undecided on their pathway.
The choice between the 4-year research program and the 6-year pharmaceutical license pathway was explained by the female student intern who chose the latter, saying,
“Whichever one was more exciting and fun, so I can feel independent.”
🔬Case 3: From Urban Aspirations to Regional Impact: A PhD Student’s Journey to C-HAS+
Ms. Hayashi initially envisioned herself pursuing a career in urban areas. However, her experience during an internship at C-HAS+ altered her perspective. Recognizing the C-HAS+ potential to create value across Kumamoto’s diverse industries including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food, she chose to remain in Kumamoto. She felt confident that her PhD-level expertise would be effectively a put to good use within the company. She saw the on-the-job training model offered within the university as a powerful blueprint for regional revitalization.
⚙️Case 4: Leveraging Cross-Disciplinary Skills for Career Shifts
The quality of opportunities fostered by C-HAS+ extends beyond simple job placement to encompass meaningful work. Ms.Ozawa previously specialized in back-office operations at an IT company in Tokyo before relocating to Kumamoto to participate in the plant database project through the Kumamoto University Regional Ecosystem Program, UpRod. Despite her humanities background, the vibrant scientific atmosphere of Kumamoto inspired her. Now at C-HAS+, Ms. Ozawa actively supports various back-office and general administrative roles, driven by deep empathy for the company's vision. Her passion for organic, ethical, and fair trade initiatives not only drew her to Kumamoto but has significantly advanced her personal and professional goals.
Dr. Mitsutake earned his PhD in Engineering from Kumamoto University and has longstanding professional ties with Dr.Kai (C-HAS+ CSO) and Dr.Shuto (C-HAS+ President/COO). His extensive international experience in life science research and later, thanks to his ties with his mentors, Dr.Kai and Dr.Shuto, took up a position at a medical device startup in Kumamoto. This role enabled him to seamlessly integrate his engineering expertise with practical medical applications. Appreciative of his mentors' dedication to nurturing talent, Dr. Mitsutake eventually decided to embrace a new challenge at C-HAS+, motivated by the opportunity to continue collaborating closely with his long-time mentors.
The synergistic relationship between the Kumamoto University School of Pharmacy education and C-HAS+ venture research exposure instills both independence and entrepreneurship in students. The interviews highlighted the School’s strong ties to the local community, with initiatives such as community 'observation sessions' and engagement with the natural environment frequently mentioned. These local ties contribute to a high retention rate of 76% of Kumamoto University graduates finding jobs within the Kyushu region6.
The Unique and Measurable Philosophy: Speciality and Responsibility
C-HAS+ emphasizes the speciality and responsibility with confidence as two fundamental metrics towards having a well-rounded expertise. Dr. Shuto shared the rubric used to score students from one to five in Figure 3, using speciality and responsibility as the guiding values of personal and professional development.
As shown in Figure 2, students steadily develop from undergraduate through master’s level, but the most pronounced growth occurs during the transition from master’s to doctoral programs. This quantitative evidence highlights both the department’s conscientious approach and the effectiveness of its current course structure, mentorship, and venture experience as students progress.
This educational philosophy reflects Dr. Shuto’s broader vision as an educator and entrepreneur, demonstrating his ability to lead C-HAS+ as an “Impact First” company that values personal growth as much as scientific and business achievement.
Figure 2: Improvement in Rubric Assessment (by grade level)
Figure 3: Rating Rubric in the Laboratory
The philosophy forms the foundation of the company’s work environment, where staff “establish social bonds and their opinions are allowed”, in contrast to a rigid hierarchy. It creates employment that genuinely enhances wellbeing through competitive remuneration, meaningful work, and career progression, which are precisely the outcomes that SIIFIC's investment strategy aims to promote in regional areas.
📈 2. Promoting Economic Growth
ℹ️ Kumamoto Prefecture Labor Market Background
The 2022 labor market data from Kumamoto Prefecture reveals key trends highlighting the importance of investing in startups focused on quality job creation. Notably, there is a high prevalence of non-regular employment, with approximately 50% of female workers and 22.7% of male workers in Kumamoto holding "precarious positions as of 2022"7. This employment insecurity is especially pronounced among certain demographic groups, with more than 75% of women aged 15-19 and those over 65+ in non-regular employment8.
These figures underscore the significance of C-HAS+’s positioning within the local labor ecosystem and demonstrate how strategic investments in regional startups can play a transformative role in creating meaningful job opportunities.
C-HAS+ exemplifies how regional startups can drive economic growth by cultivating innovation ecosystems beyond traditional employment models. The company's evolution from the government-funded UpRod Project (2017-2022) to a self-sustaining startup demonstrates a successful transition from public investment to private market viability. It builds upon government-funded research outcomes and transforms them into commercial applications.
🌎 Kumamoto University's established partnerships in traditional medicine research, including collaborations with African universities, extend the company's global reach through TICAD (Tokyo International Conference for African Development). This network broadens access to natural resources and enables cross-regional research collaboration.
C-HAS+’s focus on research and domestic traditional medicine creates diversified revenue streams, reinforcing Kumamoto's role in both the biotechnology and traditional medicine sectors. This diversification contributes to the prefecture's broader economic resilience by reducing dependence on external markets, while leveraging global partnerships to enter new markets.
🌱 3. Enhancing Local Life Quality
The fundamental challenge facing Kumamoto residents, particularly young professionals and students, centers on the tension between their desire to remain in their hometown and the economic opportunities concentrated in urban centers like Tokyo. This work-life balance dilemma reflects a broader national pattern in which talented individuals face difficult career advancement and quality of life choices.
However, strong local ties are evident in Kumamoto's educational landscape. In 2023, 3,276 students from Kumamoto high schools chose to attend university in Kumamoto, representing 58% of the 5,649 total admissions. This indicates that more than half of university entrants in Kumamoto are from the local region, underscoring both regional attachment and the potential for long-term talent retention9.
🌋Natural Characteristics
Kumamoto's distinctive natural features offer compelling reasons why many graduates choose to remain in the area. The region offers exceptional cycling culture, manageable commute times, and abundant natural landscapes, including the dramatic presence of Mount Aso. It also benefits from proximity to family networks, reliable water resources (a key factor in attracting the semiconductor industry), and a more spacious, less congested living environment.
Community stakeholders consistently described Kumamoto as both "easy to grow up in" and well-suited for retirement, attributes that speak to its multigenerational appeal. Students at Kumamoto University often enjoy the flexibility to take on multiple part-time jobs while pursuing their studies, a reflection of the region's supportive environment for work-life integration. However, the demanding nature of lab work can, at times, limit these income flows and leisure time with friends.
🧪Lab Characteristics
C-HAS+ serves as both an opportunity and a sanctuary, a space where the quality of local life is nurtured through research and a compassionate work philosophy. Under the leadership of Dr.Shuto, the company provides temporary employment to students experiencing mental health challenges or motivational hurdles in their academic work. This practice extends beyond conventional academic support, creating meaningful alternatives that allow students to remain in Kumamoto while pursuing careers aligned with their values, rather than simply chasing the highest salaries in Tokyo.
The School of Pharmacy has also demonstrated an ability to attract and retain diverse talent. Among them is Dr. Mary Ann Suico, a researcher from the Philippines who chose to stay for over twenty-two years after first arriving to study at Dr. Hirofumi Kai’s lab. Dr. Hirofumi Kai was a professor in the department of Molecular Medicine, but he recently retired to focus on drug development. This increased availability led to his career progression as CSO of C-HAS+ and CEO of GALTS Pharma (Good for Alport Syndrome and Good for All Three Sides). Her meaningful experience with Dr Kai speaks to Kumamoto's quiet strength, its capacity to welcome and integrate professionals from different cultural and educational backgrounds into a vibrant and inclusive academic community.
🌎 International Perspectives and Local Inclusivity
The insightful and positive perspective of Assistant Professor Mary Ann Suico, an advisor to both current students and those affiliated with C-HAS+, offered us a valuable bird’s-eye view of the interconnected startup, university, and local community ecosystem. As a female researcher from the Philippines working in a relatively less diverse region of Japan, her choice to remain in Kumamoto well beyond her original three-year plan speaks volumes about the inclusive atmosphere she found.
Dr. Suico noted how the department often invests in research projects that may not succeed, deliberately, as “part of the training”. This philosophy, she explained, gives students the “freedom to explore and experiment,” in contrast to more risk-averse academic cultures where failure is discouraged.
While she acknowledged ongoing gender opportunity gaps in rural Japan, her own professional experience demonstrates that meaningful and rewarding careers for women can and do exist outside of urban centers. Dr. Suico’s strength in “establishing social bonds and allowing students' opinions” has made her not only accepted but also deeply respected, helping to foster a learning environment that is both vibrant and emotionally safe.
She also reflected on cultural differences in student engagement. Compared to her experience in the Philippines, she observed that the students at Kumamoto University can appear “passive,” but are, in fact, strong and attentive listeners. These quiet but engaged social dynamics, she suggested, offer valuable insights into how pedagogy can be better adapted to support local talent development.
Ultimately, her story illustrates how regional areas like Kumamoto can retain homegrown talent and attract international professionals who contribute meaningfully to the local ecosystem. Her experience embodies the very spirit of SIIFIC’s goal: cultivating local prosperity through inclusion, purpose, and shared growth.
💭Final Thoughts
We arrived in Kumamoto expecting only to gather data on employment outcomes. However, our inspiring experience at C-HAS+ far exceeded our expectations. What began as an investment research visit quickly unfolded into a lesson in what it truly means to grow local prosperity and to be part of a community that takes ownership of its future.
Coming from the United States’ higher education backgrounds and the frameworks of Western capitalism, we were struck by the quiet authenticity and humble rigor of the students and researchers we met. These young people aren’t simply choosing between Tokyo paychecks and hometown comfort. They’re choosing to build, stay, contribute, and create value in the place they call home.
Dr. Mary Ann Suico and her 22-year journey from the Philippines to becoming a cornerstone of Kumamoto University’s academic community reminded us that real impact is not just measured in financial returns. It is harvested in the spaces where all kinds of talent are welcomed, nurtured, and given space to thrive.
Dr. Shuto’s multiple roles as not only Associate Professor and President/COO, but as a father and mentor have fostered a sustainable employment ecosystem where students can feel like they belong and have real-world exposure. The valued philosophy he lives by underpins his ability to lead C-HAS+ as an “Impact First” company.
C-HAS+ is more than just a biotechnology company. It is a living example of how thoughtful, place-based investment can cultivate entire ecosystems, where talent chooses to stay and innovation flourishes like technology in the C. elegans. Community is not a backdrop, but an active co-author of progress.
In every sense, this visit brought SIIFIC’s Investment Theme 4 to life. Ultimately, impact investing is not just about moving money but about helping communities flourish.
References
S. Tsuyoshi, presented at the 9th Kumamoto Tech Grand Prix, Jul. 19, 2024.
Japan Science and Technology Agency, "AMED Budget for Fiscal Year 2024," Science Japan, Oct. 2023. [Online]. Available: https://sj.jst.go.jp/news/202310/n1013-01k.html
University of Tokyo, "University of Tokyo Financial Information," 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/about/finances.html
J. S. Yongue, "The internationalization of the Japanese pharmaceutical industry (1980-2010)," Yakushigaku Zasshi, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 77-83, 2014.
Kumamoto University, "Employment Results," Kumamoto University, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. [Online]. Available: https://www.pharm.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/outline/employment.html
Kumamoto University, "A Look at Kumamoto University Through Data 2023," 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/daigakujouhou/kouhou/index_file/2023date_eng.pdf, p.4.
“熊本県の女性労働等の概況 令和6年度.” Accessed: Jul. 23, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/kumamoto-roudoukyoku/content/contents/001383091.pdf, p.4.
Ibid.
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Employment Status Survey: Kumamoto Prefecture Data," e-Stat, Japan, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?page=1&layout=datalist&toukei=00400001&tstat=000001011528&cycle=0&tclass1=000001212520&tclass2=000001212545&tclass3=000001212546&tclass4=000001212548&stat_infid=000040128621&tclass5val=0