東北がんばれホールディングス株式会社 / Tohoku Ganbare Holdings Corporation

新たに登記したのは「東北がんばれホールディングス株式会社」です。東北を盛り上げようと思い、この社名で登記しました。主に5つの事業を展開しています。

1つ目は、地域商品の研究開発・生産販売です。
私が移住した塩釜市浦戸諸島にある桂島では、ワカメと牡蠣の漁業が盛んですが、高齢の方々が昔のやり方のまま続けていて、水揚量は総じて少なくなってきました。また、内湾で捕れる牡蠣は小さいので、大きくて見た目が良い他の湾の牡蠣よりも安く売られていて、売り上げが上がらないのが現状です。
そこで当社では、桂島のワカメや海苔を使った商品として、せんべいを開発します。また、石巻で捕れるフカヒレやアワビと島の米を使った海鮮のお粥を開発し、海外では富裕層向けに、日本では災害時の保存食品として販売しようと考えています。

2つ目は、桂島での観光ビジネスです。
例えば、島に来たお客様に漁船に乗って漁業を体験してもらいます。捕れた魚はさばいて民宿で食べていただくようにすれば、漁船と民宿両方の収入になり、持続可能なビジネスになるのではと考えます。
また、浦戸諸島には4つの島がありますが、のんびりコーヒーを飲めるところがないので、ハイキングコースにお土産も販売する軽食屋を作りたいです。

3つ目は、外国人の受け入れができるデイサービスセンターの創設です。
私たち外国人も将来日本で介護を受けるかもしれません。もちろん、介護施設は国籍関係なく受け入れることにはなっていますが、実際は東北地方で日本語で意思疎通ができない中国残留孤児の2代目は面接を受けるとほとんど落ちてしまい、施設に入所できない現状があります。桂島はとても綺麗なところなので、外国人も、桂島のおじいちゃんおばあちゃんも受け入れることができて、リハビリ治療もできる施設を作ろうと考えています。

4つ目と5つ目は、これまで別の会社で取り組んできた本業である医療分野の事業です。この分野にも引き続き取り組んでいきます。

－Could you tell us about your current business?
The newly registered company is "Tohoku Ganbare Holdings Corporation." We registered this company name in an effort to revitalize the Tohoku region. I would like to explain our five main businesses.

The first is the research, development, production, and sales of local products.

The place I moved to, Katsurashima Island, which is located in the Urato Islands of Shiogama City, is primarily a fishing village that mainly harvests wakame seaweed and oysters. In the fishing industry, since elderly fishermen are still using the same old methods, their yields are low. In addition, since the oysters produced in the inner bay are small, they are sold at a lower price than the larger and better-looking oysters from other bays. The current situation is that wages are not increasing.
“Tohoku Ganbare” will develop rice crackers using wakame seaweed and seaweed from Katsurashima Island. We also plan to develop seafood porridge with shark fins, abalone, and rice cultivated in Ishinomaki. This porridge will be sold to high-income customers overseas and will also be available in Japan as an emergency food supply.

The second is to build a sustainable tourism business with the added value on Katsurashima Island.
For example, guests are invited to experience fishing on a boat and then eat the fish they catch at the minshuku family-run inn. This will generate income for the fishing boat and the minshuku. I think it will be a sustainable business for the islands.
There are also four islands in the Urato Islands, but there are no places to relax and drink coffee after hiking the trails, so I would like to build a casual dining place that can also sell souvenirs.

Thirdly, I would like to set up a day service center that can accept foreigners.
In the future, non-Japanese residents like myself might also receive nursing care in Japan. Of course, nursing homes should accept people regardless of their nationality, but this is not always the case. In reality, the second generation of Chinese orphans who cannot communicate in Japanese almost always fail their interview and therefore cannot be admitted to the facilities in Tohoku region.
Katsurashima Island is a very beautiful place, so we are thinking of building a facility that can accept both foreigners and the elderly of the island, as well as provide rehabilitation treatment.
The fourth and fifth areas are medical care, our core business, which we have been working on with another company. We will continue to work in this field as well.

桂島の商品開発では漁業組合からの仕入値を今よりアップして商品を開発し、販売しようと考えています。毎年1割ずつアップし、約5年かけて5割ぐらいアップできたら最高ですね。そのためにも商品のブランド力をつけるのがひとつの方法かと感じています。うまくいけば、全国各地でこの方法を活用できるのではないかなと思いますね。

－What are your future business plans?
First, we would like to increase the purchase price of the fishermen's cooperative by 10%, buy the ingredients, develop the products, and sell them. It would be great if we could increase the price by 10% every year and 50% over the next five years. I think one way to achieve this is to develop a brand for our products. If we can make this a success story, I think this model could be used all over the country.