About

Corporate philosophy

Company

What is Sodium-Block Technology?

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PURPOSE

The Significance of Toy Medical

Exploring food and health,
We support your bright and smiling tomorrow.

VISION

The world we aim for

Both delicious and healthy
Realizing a world where no one gives up.

President & Founder

Hidenori Takeshita

TOY MEDICAL Ltd. is a company that I founded in October 2013 with a few colleagues.

"We want to continue creating products that bring smiles to everyone who uses them, just like toys."

With that in mind, we named our company Toy Medical and started developing disposable products for hospitals in a single room of a one-room apartment. As the company gradually grew, we listened to the stories of people enduring various kinds of pain while undergoing treatment for illness, and we came to deeply realize how important the hope of a brighter tomorrow is to life.

Currently, our company, centered on our core competence of salt absorption suppression technology, is striving every day with the sole aim of creating products that can bring smiles to people in need around the world. We aim to build a company that can contribute to the wellness of people all over the world, starting from Kumamoto.

Company

Company

Company Name TOY MEDICAL Ltd.
location 861-4163
48-1 Shishimizu, Tomiai-machi, Minami-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture
President & Founder Hidenori Takeshita
Number of employees 14 people
Business content Food development, manufacturing, and sales
Development, manufacturing, and sales of health foods
Development, manufacturing, and sales of food additives
Development, manufacturing, and sales of medical products
Planning and sales of healthcare-related products
capital 100,000,000 yen
Date of company establishment October 9, 2013
Medical device manufacturing
Sales license number
43B2X10006
Main customers Alfresa Healthcare Co., Ltd.
Agris Co., Ltd.
Yoko Co., Ltd.
Vitabrid Japan Co., Ltd.
Major suppliers Aliment Industry Co., Ltd.
・PIAC Co., Ltd.
Sakata Rice Cracker Co., Ltd.
Yoshimura Co., Ltd.

History

October 2013 (2013)

Founded (Head office: Watarioka, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City)

November 2015 (Heisei 215)

Head office relocated to Saikumachi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City

February 2018 (Heisei 18)

Salt-absorbing supplement "Del Sol" launched.

July 2018 (Heisei 18)

Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. and Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. have formed a capital and business alliance.

October 2018 (Heisei 18)

Head office relocated to Hanazono, Nishi-ku, Kumamoto City.

November 2018 (Heisei 18)

Medical tape "Soft Fine Sheet" released

March 2019 (Heisei 31)

Patent No. 6497764, "Food composition for the purpose of sodium excretion," has been approved.

October 2019 (Reiwa 1)

Participating in the Kyushu regional qualifiers for the "Startup World Cup 2020"

May 2020 (Reiwa 2)

Head office relocated to Mifune-machi, Kamimashiki-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Capital increased to 75 million yen.

June 2020 (Reiwa 2)

Certified as a Leading Development Company in FY2020 (Kumamoto Prefecture)

Received the 23rd Kumamoto Prefecture Industrial Award, Health and Welfare Prize (Kumamoto Prefectural Federation of Industries)

January 2021 (Reiwa 3)

Capital and business alliance with Yamae Hisano Co., Ltd.

March 2021 (Reiwa 3)

Increased capital to 100 million yen

April 2021 (Reiwa 3)

Prototype of additive "SoDA" (Sodium Deactivated Alginate) completed.

August 2021 (Reiwa 3)

Soft drink "SOINE" released

March 2022 (Reiwa 4)

Selected for "J-Startup KYUSHU," a startup company incubation support program.

June 2022 (Reiwa 4)

Selected for the FY2022 Leading Company Growth Support Grant

July 2022 (Reiwa 4)

Selected for the Kumamoto Prefecture Regional Future City Promotion Project in fiscal year 2022.

August 2022 (Reiwa 4)

Acquisition of factory land in Tomiai-cho, Minami-ku, Kumamoto City

October 2022 (Reiwa 4)

Functional food product "GABA Del Sol" launched.

The results of the human clinical trial were published in "Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2022, Vol. 50, No. 10, pp. 1829-1836)".

January 2023 (Reiwa 5)

Kumamoto UX Project: "Salt Monitoring and Care Program" Demonstration Experiment Conducted

June 2023 (Reiwa 5)

Selected for the FY2023 Growth-Oriented SME Research and Development Support Project (Go-Tech Project)

July 2023 (Reiwa 5)

Selected for the Kumamoto Prefecture Regional Future Investment Promotion Project Subsidy Program for FY2023

September 2023 (Reiwa 5)

New company building completed in Tomiai-cho, Minami-ku, Kumamoto City

October 2023 (Reiwa 5)

Head office relocated to Tomiai-cho, Minami-ku, Kumamoto Prefecture.

November 2023 (Reiwa 5)

Higin Capital conducts a third-party allocation of shares.

February 2024 (Reiwa 6)

Shio Project Launched (Crowdfunding)

April 2024 (Reiwa 6)

Joint research chair established at Kumamoto University

Seasoning "Zero (Salt)" released

October 2024 (Reiwa 6)

New seasonings "Zero (Salt and Pepper)" and "Zero (Powdered Soy Sauce)" released.

February 2025 (Reiwa 7)

Winner of the Grand Prize in the Business Category at the 2024 "Creating the Future! Food Tech Business Contest" (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)

March 2025 (Reiwa 7)

Rice cracker "Holland Senbei Ki Senbei" released.

April 2025 (Reiwa 7)

Received the 23rd Kumamoto Prefecture Industrial Award, Well-being Prize (Kumamoto Prefectural Federation of Industries)

May 2025 (Reiwa 7)

Recipient of the Food 4 Future 2025 Foodtech Innovation Awards 2025 (Spain)

Startup World Cup 2025 Kyushu Qualifier Winner (Pegasus Tech Ventures Japan)

October 2025 (Reiwa 7)

Participating in the Startup World Cup 2025 World Finals (Pegasus Tech Ventures Japan)

We have implemented a third-party allocation of new shares (Saishunkan Co-creation Laboratory Co., Ltd., Toyo Seikan Group Holdings Co., Ltd.)

June 2026 (Reiwa 8)

Self-check urine kit "Shio Score" released

Technology

Sodium Block Technology

What is Sodium-Block Technology?

What is Sodium-Block Technology?Alginic acid, a dietary fiber derived from seaweed.This technology utilizes the properties of [the substance] to convert salt into a form that is less easily absorbed without reducing the amount of salt contained in food.

The salt (sodium) contained in food is partially absorbed by alginates in the stomach and intestines and converted into sodium alginate. This converted sodium alginate is eventually excreted from the body as feces.

Toy Medical will use this technologyAiming to create a world where you don't have to compromise on either "delicious food" or "health."Yes, they are.

Development story

Research and Development Story

"I want to eat ramen again like I used to."

We were originally a medical supplies manufacturer, and our main products included painless tapes for dialysis patients that could be removed without pain.
While monitoring the next product, I received a message from an acquaintance who is a dialysis patient.

"Food restrictions are truly painful."
I hope they'll create something that lets us eat Kumamoto ramen like in the old days again.

I received a question about this. For dialysis patients, ramen is one of the foods that should be avoided because it is high in salt and fat.
However, as a medical supplies manufacturer, this product is frankly completely outside our area of expertise, and we have no idea where to direct its development. Nevertheless, solving the problems that patients are facing is our company philosophy. We started development knowing the risk of failure.

塩分分解
塩分過剰摂取

The problem of excessive salt intake

Initially, this health food was being developed for dialysis patients,
As I researched the issue of excessive salt intake, I learned that it's actually a global problem.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the WHO also recommend reducing salt intake to prevent lifestyle-related diseases and maintain good health.

Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website

Diet is the most familiar aspect of health, but the cumulative effect of daily dietary choices can be both good and bad for the body. A diet high in salt, for example, can strain the kidneys, raise blood pressure, and have other negative effects on the body.
Continuing such a diet can lead to serious illnesses such as arteriosclerosis and kidney disease.

Although we started development, for the first few months...
There was absolutely no way to find a solution.

At that moment, I happened to see a TV commercial for a beverage that suppresses the absorption of fat and sugar, and it was like a ray of hope appeared.
"If it can inhibit the absorption of fats and sugars, then surely salt (sodium ions) can do the same thing?"
With that in mind, I immediately consulted with Professor Fujiwara of the Department of Life Sciences at Kumamoto University, with whom I had a close relationship, and proposed a joint research project.

Aiming for safety and security

After researching various literatures, it was found that a certain type of dietary fiber has the effect of absorbing salt,
That dietary fiber contained a large amount of potassium, which is even more restricted than sodium for dialysis patients.
This means it cannot be used by dialysis patients.

We have eliminated raw materials that contain large amounts of potassium and phosphorus,
We will proceed with our considerations with the goal of creating food products that everyone can pick up and use with peace of mind.
From among approximately 30 types of raw materials, the slimy component of seaweed such as kelp and wakame is selected.
"Alginic acid derivatives"I finally arrived.

Alginic acid, the raw material for alginic acid derivatives, is found in the thallus of seaweed and has a structure in which two types of uronic acid, D-mannuronic acid and L-guluronic acid, are linked in a straight chain. The carboxyl groups of uronic acid have high ion exchange capacity and readily bind with sodium ions. Furthermore, alginic acid derivatives are dietary fiber that cannot be broken down by human digestive enzymes and are therefore excreted unchanged.
The safety of alginate has been evaluated by the FAO/WHO and it is considered one of the safest substances.
Furthermore, alginic acid compounds are involved in imparting various properties to food products and are now very familiar, being used in a wide variety of foods such as ice cream, jelly, dressings, and beer.

And these alginates had a remarkable effect.

アルギン酸類
アルギン酸類

Technology establishment

Having decided to use alginates as the main component, we continued our research toward commercialization.
However, for some reason, the same effect was not obtained when the test was conducted in a test tube compared to when it was actually tested as a food product.
Through repeated experiments, we discovered that alginates tend to clump together in the stomach, which reduces their effectiveness.
To solve this problem, we considered dozens of different formulations,
After two years and overcoming numerous failures, we have finally arrived at a formula that effectively absorbs salt.

The world we aim for

When we get sick or age and our health becomes a concern, we face various limitations, and we may lose some of the small joys of everyday life.
We hope to use the power of technology to free ourselves from the various sacrifices we are forced to make in order to be healthy.
We aim to create a world where people can enjoy delicious food and stay healthy.

Recruit

Potential

Ideal Team Member Profile

Service

I want to make someone smile
I am working.

Pride

I can be proud of those around me.
I am working.

Self-Blame

Everything that happens to me is
This is what I have built up over time.

Autonomy

I thought for myself,
I will take proactive action.

Harmony

I try to think from the other person's perspective.
I will have my own will.

Passion

My passion will change the world
It's one step

Sense Of Responsibility

In order to achieve the best results,
I will do my best.

Challenge

As long as I continue to take on challenges
That's not a failure.

Ambition

I invest in my own growth.
I will continue to be a capable person.

Sociability

For me, smiles and greetings are
This is the first step.

Apply

Job Application

Flow

Recruitment process

  • 1Contact Us
  • 2Send your resume
  • 3Schedule adjustment via email
  • Interview and aptitude test
  • Job offer notification
  • 6Official recruitment
  • 7Joining the company

New graduate recruitment

*We are not currently recruiting.

Mid-career recruitment

*We are not currently recruiting.

*We are not currently recruiting.

*We are not currently recruiting.

Internship

Internship Information

For 2025 graduates
Information about our 1-Day Work Experience Program

Date and timeApplications are accepted at any time.
Any time between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM on weekdays
(about 3 hours)
VenueToy Medical Headquarters
48-1 Shishimizu, Tomiai-machi, Minami-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Google Maps
supplement・Free clothing
No items to bring.
- Lunch is included if you stay past noon.
Application detailsContact Formor
PhonePlease do so.
  • 01Head office tour
    You can get a feel for the office atmosphere!
  • 02Company Description
    About the world's first "salt control technology"
  • 03Experimental experience with toy medical technology
    Reaction experiments using alginate!
  • 04Question and Answer Session
    We'll answer job-seeking students' concerns from a realistic perspective!
  • 05Lunch discussion (optional)
    We're visiting a ramen restaurant that's collaborating with us on joint research to see how our products are being used and enjoy a delicious meal!

Contact Us

Please feel free to contact us.