The sound of something rustling and moving in the darkness.
Two sharp eyes glow in the late-night orchard.
Before the people watching with bated breath, what appeared was...
Sleep issues, now recognized as a problem in modern society. Recognizing this reality, various companies have begun initiatives to improve consumers' sleep.
The volunteer team "Nerenaizu" at Dentsu Inc. was formed with the goal of turning "the time when you want to sleep but can't (the time before sleep)" into a slightly meaningful activity. They are currently implementing "nice" activities that transform the time before sleep into valuable time for others and for oneself, such as the "Pest Animal Monitor" project to chase away animals damaging fields and initiatives introducing "Unique Qualification Certifications."
This time, Kasuko Maruhashi from Dentsu Inc. CX Creative Center (hereafter CXCC), the founder of "Nerenaosu," talks with Ryosuke Suzuki from "ZAKONE" (ZAKONE), an initiative born to invigorate Japan's sleep industry, which Maruhashi's team also participates in. They candidly discuss the activities, their significance, and future prospects.
What's the background behind the launch of "Nerenaizu," a unique project focused on "the time before sleep"?
From left: "Nerenaosu" founder Maruhashi (Dentsu Inc.) and Suzuki (NTT DX Partners), operator of "ZAKONE"
──First, please introduce yourselves.
Suzuki: I typically handle sleep-related business at NTT DX Partners. This includes corporate sleep improvement programs and solving sleep-related concerns. One of our sleep initiatives is "ZAKONE," an independent corporate community I help operate. The sleep industry faces many challenges that are difficult for any single company to solve alone. Our goal is to energize this industry by partnering with various companies.
Maruhashi: I belong to Dentsu Inc.'s CXCC and work as an art director. Alongside my regular duties, I launch projects like "Nerenaizu" and build and manage teams for them.
──Could you tell us what prompted the launch of the "Nerenaizu" project?
Maruhashi: The precursor to "Nerenaizu" actually started back in 2005. At the time, I knew quite a few people who were taking sleeping pills because they couldn't sleep. When I looked into it, I found data suggesting around one in four Japanese people weren't getting enough sleep. That really made me realize how serious a problem sleep issues are. Pharmaceutical companies and bedding manufacturers are developing various products to address this serious challenge.So, we at Dentsu Inc. asked ourselves, "What can we do?" That's when we shifted our perspective slightly and came up with the concept: "If you can't sleep anyway, why not try to enjoy that time?"
──What kind of activities were you involved in back then?
Maruhashi: We formed a team called "suiming club" and created a "pillow book" as our first project. It's a book to read at the end of the day; you can open any page and read just one page each night.Each page features content related to sleep—like imagining something or playing a game—so the idea is to enjoy the time before sleep by doing those things. We also published a regular-format book with the same content, titled "sleep book," in a run of 10,000 copies through Magazine House.
The pillow-shaped "Pillow Book" (the green one below) and the "sleep book" with the same content published by Magazine House. The photo of the open page shows the view when lying in a hammock.
Maruhashi: We also created app content for chat tools that were popular at the time. Many people couldn't end their chats and ended up unable to sleep. Our app helped them close things out smoothly. You'd set a bedtime, and when the time came, it would notify your chat partner, "Closing for the night," or play "The Light of the Firefly."
Our workload increased, and we eventually shut it down. But the pandemic became the catalyst for restarting it. Back then, as people stayed home during lockdown, more were feeling anxious. This created a new wave of "people who couldn't sleep," different from the issues 15 years prior. Keeping the core idea of "turning sleepless time into value," we decided to create a sleep project suited for today's times. So, we launched anew with a team of five.
Revitalizing the sleep industry! Joining "ZAKONE" expands the scope of "Nerenae Su" activities.
──Please tell us about your current activities.
Maruhashi: When we thought, "To turn sleepless time into value, wouldn't it be good to do something beneficial for society?", news about pest damage caught our attention.While bears are a major problem in 2025, the previous year saw a massive outbreak of raccoon dogs. There were frequent incidents where crops, painstakingly cultivated by farmers, were destroyed and eaten by pests like raccoon dogs and raccoons. That's when we thought: Couldn't we easily monitor fields with surveillance cameras during those sleepless night hours, using the collective efforts of many people to prevent pest damage?
Since I didn't have any connections with farmers, I started by looking for those. Luckily, I found a connection through someone at Fujisawa City Hall, who introduced me to a local farmer (an orchard owner). Actually, that city hall person got involved in the project too, and we worked together for a year, so it turned out to be a great connection.
Our method for monitoring pests involves setting up fixed cameras in the fields and live-streaming the footage on YouTube. When pests appear, calling a designated phone number triggers a warning sound through speakers installed in the field. It's a somewhat analog approach, but we're operating in a relaxed manner, true to our "Sleepless" spirit.
Suzuki: I've watched the live streams a few times myself, but I haven't encountered any pests yet. I'm the type who can fall asleep pretty easily, so I usually doze off before I know it.
Maruhashi: That's great! Since "Nerenaizu" is about "making the time before sleep meaningful," you don't have to monitor constantly—in fact, it's fine if you fall asleep (laughs). It'd be nice if people could watch the live stream with the same relaxed feeling as gazing at a bonfire.
──What brought "Nerenaosu" and "ZAKONE" together?
Maruhashi: At Dentsu Inc., we hold an annual internal event as part of our sleep project, and "ZAKONE" participated in that. When we were looking to build external connections to help run "Nerenaesu," we learned about "ZAKONE" participating in the event and reached out to them.
Suzuki: After that, they also came to our "ZAKONE Night," right ? It's a monthly meetup event where participating "ZAKONE" companies present their initiatives, followed by a networking session. We emphasize "loose connections"—it's more about building friendships through casual interaction than pure business, aiming to foster collaborations and customer referrals.Recently, we've had around 50 to 60 participants, both online and offline.
Maruhashi: It's such an interesting event because you get to talk to such diverse people. When I attended, there were not only company representatives but also university professors. I also spoke with someone from the real estate industry and heard about their project to create rooms designed for better sleep. Sleep has so many different angles, so I was able to connect with people from a wide range of industries.
Suzuki: The number of companies participating in "ZAKONE" is currently 270 (as of December 2025), and it's growing rapidly right now. It really drives home how diverse the companies entering the sleep industry are. Every company joining "ZAKONE" shares the desire to "connect with various businesses and scale up."
Social contribution during "sleepless hours." Could the "Pest Wildlife Monitor" project be the sleep industry's new trump card!?
──Please share your impressions of the "Sleepless Time" project.
──Could you share your impression of the "Sleepless" project?
Suzuki: Actually, my first involvement with "Sleepless" was when we installed fixed cameras at a farm in Fujisawa City. I joined because I was assigned to write an article about "Sleepless" for the ZAKONE site. I went without much prior knowledge, so at first I was like, "What are we even doing at this farm...?" (laughs).
Maruhashi: Yeah, you joined us pretty suddenly (laughs). You came when we were installing fixed cameras for pest monitoring for the first time, so we were feeling our way through things too, and you helped us out.
Suzuki: My first impression was, "This is a truly unique organization—while most companies participating in 'ZAKONE' aim to help people sleep, they focus on making sleepless time 'nice'."
They're listed on the ZAKONE company roster as "Sleepless" instead of their actual name, so I didn't realize it was a Dentsu Inc. project. When I met Maruhashi-san at the Fujisawa City farm and heard about it, I was impressed, thinking, "That's Dentsu Inc. for you – such creative thinking." It made me realize myself that trying to force people who can't sleep to sleep is kind of a clumsy approach...I think it's a very meaningful initiative to help people who can't sleep make that time a little better.
Maruhashi: When you can't sleep, you tend to pressure yourself, thinking, "I should be sleeping, what should I do?" Instead, I think it's better to view that sleepless time more casually and use it as an opportunity to make the world a little better. Even if it's just a few hours, being able to contribute to something should lead to a sense of joy.
Suzuki: Exactly. For many people, sleepless time has become a kind of "time for self-denial." If "Sleepless Time" can be a catalyst to transform that into even a little time for self-affirmation, I believe it could have a positive effect on the sleep industry as well.
──Besides "Sleepless," are there any other interesting initiatives from ZAKONE or trends in the sleep industry you could share?
Suzuki: As I mentioned earlier, a wide variety of companies are now entering both "ZAKONE" and the sleep industry. For example, businesses originally operating saunas are incorporating new approaches like saunas beneficial for sleep or scents that induce sleep. This trend of gaining new sales channels through such innovations is likely to grow further.
The membership criteria for "ZAKONE" are organizations currently engaged in sleep-related initiatives or planning to become involved. I believe more companies wanting to enter the sleep industry or seeking to scale up by connecting with other businesses will join.
As part of our initiatives, in March 2025, we collaborated with diverse participating companies to hold a two-day, one-night "Snoring Tour" for people troubled by snoring. We invited sleep product developers and providers participating in "ZAKONE," sleep apnea specialists, and breathing instructors. The event featured breathing technique sessions, lectures on sleep apnea, trial use of sleep products, and distribution of products as souvenirs.
We recruited about 25 participants from the NTT East Group, but within about a week, we received around 300 applications. We narrowed it down to about 60 people by lottery, sent them test kits to measure their "snoring level," and gathered a "elite snoring force" that really got into it. I believe this kind of initiative, made possible by multiple companies teaming up, is unique to "ZAKONE."
With an eye toward partnerships with other companies, we aim to further expand this project.
──What future developments are you considering?
──What future developments are you considering?
Maruhashi: Since launching the "Pest Monitor" project in autumn 2024, we've implemented it at one farm per season, totaling four farms so far. We've had viewership reach around 22,000 people over 28 days, and the farmers have been very positive, expressing interest in expanding it further.
Summer seems to be particularly bad for pest damage. Some farmers growing premium fruits like Shine Muscat even sleep in their fields until harvest is complete. Therefore, we hope to focus more intensively on summer operations going forward.Another challenge is power supply for the warning alarms when pests arrive. The reality is, many fields lack reliable power sources. Currently, we operate at farms with power access, like those with attached direct sales outlets. Moving forward, we hope to use solar panels for power. By addressing these environmental issues, we aim to increase the number of farms where pest monitoring can be implemented.
It would also be wonderful to have more volunteers willing to monitor during those sleepless hours. We want to spread this project widely so we can collectively support farmers struggling with pest damage.
Beyond the "Pest Monitor" project, we're also planning an activity where small bookstores across the country curate books. People can then read these curated books online during their sleepless nights. By purchasing books curated by insomniacs via the internet, we believe this can also support struggling bookstores. Our team is brainstorming new ideas like this, combining technology with such concepts.
Suzuki: I believe more companies will join "ZAKONE" going forward, so I hope they actively use the community to build connections. It's been about a year since "Nerenaosu" presented at "ZAKONE Night," right? At that time, there were around 150 participating companies, so if they presented again now, it would surely lead to new encounters.Among the participating companies, there are some that curate books that make you sleepy at night, so collaborations with such companies are also possible. Also, since local governments are participating, it might connect to the "Pest Monitor" project.
Maruhashi: Connections are truly important, so seeing activities expand through "ZAKONE" is very rewarding. We definitely want to present again. We really rely on "ZAKONE" for providing these opportunities!
Suzuki: Other companies participating in "ZAKONE" must be curious about this unique group called "Nerenaosu." While "ZAKONE" is supposed to be a community that helps people sleep, everyone is probably wondering what exactly "Nerenaosu" is all about – a group that can't sleep. I hope that by collaborating with other companies to create synergy, "Nerenaosu" activities, including the "Pest Monitor" project, will accelerate even more.
Maruhashi: Thank you. I believe nighttime should be freer and more enjoyable. When you relax and be yourself, a good night's sleep awaits. "Sleepless" aims to be a project that proposes such ways to spend the night.
We encourage everyone to casually drop by our YouTube LIVE streams for the Pest Monitor project, and those thinking "I'd like to participate!" are more than welcome. On X, we also share "Unique Quizzes" designed to help you use your sleepless time for yourself, so please check them out.
Beyond running our own sleep project, we also work as "Creative Consultants," collaborating with companies to co-create initiatives around sleep and how to spend your nights. "Turning those 'can't sleep but want to' moments into value" – if this idea resonates with you, feel free to reach out!
Business Designer / ZAKONE Health Management Director
After joining NTT East Japan, I gained experience in project management for systems serving regional prefectural police and local government clients.
Following that, I worked on market research related to smart cities before joining the sleep tech business. I currently support corporate health management initiatives focused on sleep.
Maruhashi Kazuko
Dentsu Inc.
Customer Experience Creative Center Experience Neutral Design Division 2
Art Director
While handling numerous projects such as new brand launches and rebranding, he also initiates diverse projects on his own—covering gender issues, sleep problems, and universal design—and oversees art direction across a wide range of fields, including activities aimed at solving social challenges.
Recipient of numerous awards including:
AdFest Advertising Festival Silver & Bronze
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Silver & Bronze & Finalist
Clio Awards Bronze
One Show Silver
Dentsu Inc. Advertising Awards Excellence Award
Nikkei Advertising Awards Gold Prize
JAGDA
