Kumejima Town, Okinawa Prefecture, and Canon Marketing Japan Sign Comprehensive Partnership Agreement for "Welfare (DX Promotion) Support in Kumejima Town" - Promoting Demonstration of System to Visualize and Support Prevention of Heart Disease Risk with AI -

Canon Marketing Japan Inc. (President and CEO: Masachika Adachi, hereinafter Canon MJ) has signed a comprehensive partnership agreement for "Welfare (DX Promotion) Support in Kumejima Town" with Kumejima Town, Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture (Mayor: Hideo Momohara), with a signing ceremony held on July 6, 2026. Based on this agreement, we aim to develop systems for the advancement and efficiency of health and welfare services in municipalities and to build a sustainable operational framework. As one of the key initiatives, we will promote the demonstration of a heart disease prevention support model that continuously visualizes heart disease risk, particularly heart failure, using AI by integrating health checkup data with daily life data acquired from wearable devices.

Mayor Hideo Momohara of Kumejima Town and Canon MJ Managing Executive Officer Takuya Tsunenobu (right)

Background of the Agreement

With the advancement of the aging population nationwide, the number of patients with heart diseases, including heart failure, is increasing, leading to a situation described as a "heart failure pandemic"*. While the treatment burden after the onset of such diseases is significant, early intervention by grasping signs during daily life is considered effective, highlighting the growing importance of prevention and pre-illness care initiatives.

Particularly in island regions like Kumejima Town, challenges such as a shortage of medical and care personnel, including municipal staff and public health nurses, and limitations in medical access are becoming apparent, necessitating the creation of new mechanisms to continuously support the health management of residents.

Canon MJ is committed to creating new value by exploring cutting-edge technologies and business ideas and promoting open innovation to solve societal issues with a future-oriented approach. We have been working with municipalities, medical institutions, universities, and companies to create regional medical and welfare models. In this context, we focused on the effectiveness of preventive health management utilizing daily life data in regions with limited medical resources and have entered into this partnership with Kumejima Town as a demonstration research partner.

* A situation where the number of heart failure patients is rapidly increasing due to the aging population, significantly impacting healthcare and society.

Objectives of the Agreement

Through this agreement, we will collaborate in areas such as health promotion, prevention and pre-illness care initiatives, enhanced support for the elderly, and DX promotion in remote healthcare and welfare services, aiming to build a sustainable regional medical and welfare model that allows residents to continue living with peace of mind in their familiar communities.

Overview of the Demonstration Research

As one of the key initiatives under this agreement, Canon MJ will promote demonstration research on a heart disease prevention support model and its operation. In this demonstration, targeting residents of Kumejima Town, we will integrate and analyze health checkup data, including blood pressure and blood sugar levels held by the municipality, along with daily life data such as heart rate, steps, and sleep acquired from wearable watches. This will enable us to capture changes in daily health status that are difficult to ascertain through conventional health checkups alone, continuously visualize heart disease risk using AI, and evaluate the usefulness of preventive support by municipalities.

Furthermore, this initiative will leverage the technology of General Prognostics Inc.*, which was selected and partnered with through Canon MJ's "spark.me Acceleration Program" aimed at creating new businesses through co-creation with startups. This aims to capture signs of change without burdening the body by estimating the state of cardiac load, which is normally assessed through blood tests, based on data acquired from wearable devices.

* A startup developing technology to detect early signs of heart failure deterioration using AI.

Expected Effects

- Extension of healthy life expectancy and improvement in quality of life (QOL) - Creation of a system that leads to cost reduction in medical expenses and early consultation - Advancement of municipal health and welfare services and promotion of data utilization

Future Development

Through this demonstration, we will promote initiatives with a view to enhancing health support by public health nurses and supporting behavioral changes in residents. We will also work to build a regional implementation model that comprehensively supports everything from prevention to medical care, by combining data utilization in the health, medical, and long-term care fields with remote healthcare and other services. Furthermore, based on the knowledge gained in Kumejima Town, we will promote collaboration with municipalities within Okinawa Prefecture and aim for expansion to other regions in Japan, thereby promoting the construction of a sustainable regional medical and welfare model.

Canon MJ will continue to contribute to the realization of a sustainable regional society in an era of population decline and aging by creating mechanisms that continuously support the health of local residents.

Inquiries from the general public: Canon Marketing Japan Inc. R&B Promotion Division

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