What Companies Can Do Now for a Well-Being Society: Yoshiki Ishikawa × Future Business Creation Lab

Well-being, gaining social attention as a post-SDGs value, is also increasingly emphasized by companies when envisioning their "ideal future."

What exactly is well-being? And what can companies do to help people live well-being lives? We explore these questions through a conversation between Dr. Yoshiki Ishikawa, a leading preventive medicine researcher active at the forefront of well-being studies, and Kentaro Yoshida, Founder of Dentsu Inc.'s Future Business Creation Lab.

※This article is re-edited from a blog originally published on Do! Solutions.

 

<Table of Contents>
▼Understanding Well-being Through Two Metrics: Objective and Subjective

▼When Individuals Pursue Well-being, Society Becomes More Tolerant

▼Well-being Cannot Be Achieved Through Solution-Oriented Approaches Alone

▼What Companies Should Prioritize: "Choice" and "Self-Determination"

▼Adopting a Consumer Perspective to View Life Holistically

▼Toward a Society That Affirms Not Only Customer Well-being, But Also Employee Well-being

Understanding Well-being Through Two Indicators: Objectivity and Subjectivity

Yoshida: Today, we'd like to discuss various aspects of "well-being." To start, please allow me to share a bit about myself as an introduction.

At Dentsu Inc., I established the cross-group organization "Future Business Creation Lab," supporting corporate new business creation in various ways. The catalyst was a comment from my son: "I wish I'd been born in the Showa era." When I was a child, I believed the future would naturally become better, and I was excited about it. But children living in today's world, with its many challenges, don't feel that way. As an adult who helped create this society, I felt a responsibility. I wondered if we could work together with our client companies to build a better future, which is why I launched the Future Business Creation Lab.

At Mirai Jigyo Soken, we value "vision-driven" thinking—envisioning the "future as it should be." This stems from witnessing firsthand the success of groundbreaking new ventures that achieved rapid growth from launch, and from participating in launching corporate services that elicited societal responses. These experiences made me keenly aware that we must consider the future using different evaluation criteria than those of the present. When contemplating that "ideal future," well-being is an indispensable perspective, which is precisely why I wanted to speak with Mr. Ishikawa.

Kentaro Yoshida: Founder, Future Business Creation Lab , Dentsu Inc. Began using PCs in the Showa era, created owned media during the Web 1.0 era, and joined a telecommunications company. After joining Dentsu Inc., he tracked the evolution, adoption, and lifestyle impacts of consumer technology, primarily in telecommunications, analyzing the value and changes brought by technology. Leveraging this expertise in new product/service development and communication planning, he established the Dentsu Group-wide "Future Business Creation Lab" in 2021, focusing on purpose formulation through future visualization and new business planning.

Ishikawa: Thank you for the kind introduction. I really resonate with what you just shared—it's almost surprising we haven't crossed paths with Mr. Yoshida until now.

Yoshida: Indeed (laughs). Now, let's get to the main topic. Could you briefly explain "what is well-being" for our readers?

Ishikawa: Certainly. Well-being is defined quite vaguely as a "positive state." To understand it concretely, examining how well-being is actually measured provides clarity. Currently, the international consensus divides it into "objective well-being" and "subjective well-being" for measurement. First, understanding these distinctions helps outline what well-being entails.

The initial definition of objective well-being can be measured using the international indicator known as the "Human Development Index (HDI)." This index consists of three domains: "Health," "Education," and "Income." Being physically and mentally healthy, having received an education, and enjoying economic stability. This is the initial method for measuring objective well-being.

Conversely, the aspect gaining more attention in recent years is subjective well-being. To measure this, individuals are asked to self-assess: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your current life?" and "On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you think your life will be in five years?" In other words, it's not an ambiguous question like "Are you happy now?" but rather an extremely democratic measurement method: "Self-assess your own life using your own standards."

Yoshiki Ishikawa, Representative Director of Well-being for Planet Earth. Preventive medicine researcher, Doctor of Medicine. Graduated from the Department of Health Sciences, University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine; completed the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; earned his Doctor of Medicine degree at Jichi Medical University. He conducts interdisciplinary research with companies and universities on the theme of "What constitutes a good life (Good Life)?" His specialties include preventive medicine, behavioral science, computational creativity, and conceptual evolution theory. His recent book is "Once Upon a Time, There Was Well-being: Understanding the Shape of Happiness from Japanese Culture" (KADOKAWA).

Yoshida: I see. I knew well-being couldn't be defined in a single word, but separating it into objective and subjective aspects makes it much easier to grasp.

When individuals pursue well-being, society becomes more tolerant.

Yoshida: I'd really like to ask you, Mr. Ishikawa, about something that troubles me when I think about well-being. It's this: "Is society tolerant of individuals pursuing their own well-being?"

In today's society, where individual values and opinions are easily visualized on social media, while filter bubbles (※1) and echo chambers (※2) affirm one's own values and happiness, I often feel there's a lot of negative or exclusionary opinion toward values and preferences different from one's own. It feels like a transitional period where societal understanding of diversity is progressing, yet people unable to accept it are also becoming more visible... I'm not sure if this is a problem specific to Japan or a broader issue with technology, but how do you perceive this, Mr. Ishikawa?

※1: Filter bubble: When search engine algorithms block information users don't want to see, resulting in a situation where only desired information is visible, as if wrapped in a "bubble."
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※2: Echo chamber: A situation on social media where individuals with similar values interact and empathize with each other, amplifying and reinforcing their own opinions. This is likened to the physical phenomenon of sound reverberating within a closed, small room.

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Ishikawa: First, regarding "what does pursuing well-being entail?" The foundation lies in "health," "education," and "income." Above all, being healthy, receiving a solid education, and having sufficient income are prerequisites. However, this alone isn't sufficient; subjective well-being (life satisfaction) is also crucial. To achieve this, belonging to diverse communities is said to be important. Having a sense of belonging in various places means encountering diverse people and interpretations. This ultimately builds confidence in one's own values and fosters tolerance toward others.

Yoshida: So, objective well-being comes first, and by enriching connections on top of that, society inevitably becomes more tolerant, right?

Ishikawa: Furthermore, people striving to improve their own lives are highly likely to engage in altruistic behavior. Since everyone has the desire to "help someone," increasing the opportunities and frequency for expressing that desire is one direction society can take to pursue well-being.

Yoshida: It certainly makes sense that "the happier you are, the more likely you are to accept others' happiness." That's a very convincing point.

Well-being cannot be achieved through solution-oriented approaches alone

Yoshida: Moving on, I'd like to ask about the relationship between companies and well-being. When companies pursue well-being, there might be a dilemma. Even if they understand that pursuing well-being leads to positive long-term results, companies tend to prioritize a solution-oriented approach of "first tackling immediate negative issues." This can make it difficult to initiate new ventures aimed at the future.

Ishikawa: I see it this way: well-being is just a new buzzword; fundamentally, it's not different from what we've always valued. It's also highly relevant to business. For example, objective well-being has clear goals like "improving health, education, and income," so it can be effectively pursued even with the solution-oriented approach Mr. Yoshida mentioned earlier.

However, subjective well-being might not be so straightforward. In the past, shared visions like "the three sacred treasures," "the dream home," or "someday owning a Crown" could rally everyone. Today, the forms people seek for happiness have diversified. A solution-oriented approach alone likely won't suffice.

Yoshida: You're absolutely right. Going forward, I believe companies must clearly articulate a vision like "Our company/brand will shape the future this way" and foster shared understanding. Without that, the very relationship between companies and consumers won't even begin. This is precisely why supporting companies through vision-driven approaches is so meaningful for us at Future Business Creation Research.

What companies should focus on: "Choices" and "Self-determination"

Yoshida: When companies concretely consider businesses that contribute to well-being, what perspectives do you think are crucial, Mr. Ishikawa?

Ishikawa: If I can offer advice from a well-being research perspective... Recent studies report that "choice" and "self-determination" are major factors influencing well-being. When designing initiatives, it's beneficial to consciously consider these two elements and ask: "Will the products or services we offer become new choices for consumers?"

What does presenting choices mean? To give some concrete examples: the recent entry of craft beer makers into the market presented new choices in a beer market long dominated by major manufacturers. Rinnai, a water heater manufacturer, previously launched a water heater that generates "ultra-fine bubbles" (microscopic bubbles under 1 micrometer in diameter that deliver excellent cleaning effects). This product offers a new choice regarding the "quality of hot water," something people hadn't consciously considered before. NTT Docomo's mobile plan "ahamo" is another example. Amid increasingly complex mobile plans that made self-selection difficult, it presented a simple value proposition that could serve as a new choice. That's why I believe consumers chose it.

Once Upon a Time, There Was Well-Being: The Shape of Happiness as Seen Through Japanese Culture (Co-authored by Yoshiki Ishikawa and Naoki Yoshida / KADOKAWA)

Yoshida: "ahamo" is a perfect example. It's not just about mobile phone plans; there are countless cases in society where consumers abandon choice due to information overload. I realized we must consider, in the communication between companies and consumers, between society and consumers, how to clearly present value from the consumer's perspective. This guides consumers to actively choose, thinking "This is good," and enables them to make their own decisions.

A perspective that encompasses all aspects of life from the consumer's viewpoint

Ishikawa: The keyword "consumer perspective" you mentioned is truly crucial. I'd add that a broad perspective encompassing "life as a whole" is also necessary. Business domains or industry classifications are corporate concerns—irrelevant to consumers. It's obvious, but without seeing life as a whole, you can't discern what constitutes a valuable choice for consumers.

The life insurance sector, for example, is making a significant shift in this regard. Previously, insurance was primarily about preparing for emergencies, but recently, there's been a shift towards developing services that support life as a whole. Railway companies are also moving beyond just transporting people and starting to focus on community building. I feel this kind of WX (Well-being Transformation) is now happening simultaneously across various industries.

Yoshida: To summarize what we've discussed so far: "We aim to create businesses and brands that consumers can proactively choose as new lifestyle options. To achieve this, we need more than just a marketing perspective that responds to needs. We must propose experiences and lifestyles that consumers desire but haven't had as options before. This proposal capability will then become the brand identity." In other words, creating businesses that contribute to well-being directly connects to corporate branding.

Toward a society that affirms the well-being of both customers and employees

Yoshida: One final theme I'd like to address is employee well-being. There's a prevailing atmosphere where cutting employee salaries to lower product prices is called "corporate effort" and seen as what society demands. It's deeply regrettable to see companies and brands devalue themselves in this trend. While I understand the competitive environment and other factors, it's been pointed out that employee wages haven't risen, especially when compared to advanced nations over the past 30 years.

Earlier, you noted that "income" is a major factor in well-being. Precisely because profit margins are low now due to yen depreciation and rising raw material costs, I believe this is the time to shift focus: leverage brand value to secure appropriate profits and reflect those gains in employee salaries. I hope society increasingly affirms this approach to corporate management, and I feel well-being could be a major catalyst for that shift.

Ishikawa: Considering your point from an economic perspective, I think it's necessary to aim for a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution. That is, a cycle where improving corporate performance and increasing income are pursued simultaneously. In the past growth economy, as long as sales and profits rose, everyone could achieve well-being. However, in a mature economy, the distributable resources inevitably don't increase, so distribution tends to become skewed. This is clearly evident when examining data on the distribution of added value generated by Japanese companies over the past 30 years. However, the current government is finally shifting its focus toward this "new capitalism" direction within the mature economy, aiming for a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution. Therefore, I believe we will gradually see changes moving forward.

Yoshida: Regarding societal change, education also plays a significant role. Education was mentioned as one element of objective well-being. If you have any thoughts on this, Mr. Ishikawa, I'd appreciate hearing them.

Ishikawa: Education tends to be discussed primarily in terms of "quality" – who learns what. While that perspective is valid from an individual standpoint, when viewed macro-level across society as a whole, what is fundamentally important in education is the number of years spent in education, or "quantity." Japan still lacks sufficient "quantity" of education. Looking at university enrollment rates by prefecture and gender, the disparities are simply too great. How we increase the average years of education for Japanese people and reduce these disparities will also be crucial for achieving well-being. For example, Chiba City's "After-School Children's Class" initiative is drawing attention as an effort contributing to increasing children's educational quantity.

Yoshida: Applying this to corporate activities, it seems crucial for pursuing employee well-being not to assume education stops after entering the workforce or to overlook opportunities beyond formal schooling. Providing diverse learning environments, such as reskilling programs, is key. Furthermore, expanding the definition of education to change how we approach "learning" could lead to creating new markets.

Today's conversation with Mr. Ishikawa has sharpened my understanding of what companies can do to build a well-being society. Personally, I particularly resonated with three points: "presenting choices," "empowering individuals to make their own decisions," and "the volume of education." Keeping these perspectives in mind, we at the Future Business Creation Lab also aim to collaborate with companies to create ventures that realize a "well-being future." Thank you again for today.

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● Solution Introduction Page
Future Craft Process by Future Business Creation Lab: Visualizing the Future and Creating Future Businesses

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Future Craft Process by Future Business Creation Lab: A Program to Visualize the Future and Create Future Businesses

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