Message from the President

　Thank you for your continued support of Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Company. Since assuming the position of President and Representative Director in April 2024, I am now entering my second year in office. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to our customers and all other stakeholders for their unwavering support during this time.
　Looking back on my first year, our business environment has been undergoing rapid change, and in response, we have initiated a number of reforms to adapt flexibly to these shifts. At the same time, I came to realize strongly that if we focus solely on “responding to change,” we risk losing sight of what truly matters to us. It is precisely because of this that we must firmly uphold the “universal values that must not be changed.”

　With this in mind, we restructured our philosophy system to clarify the company’s vision and direction. I believe that a philosophy, in simple terms, expresses “who we are.” In an era of constant transformation, it is all the more meaningful to clearly define and share a philosophy that represents an unchanging core.　
　As a life insurance company, our most important duty is to ensure that we provide protection to our customers, no matter what happens or when. This means maintaining sound management and continuing our business over the long term. The claims and benefits we pay are not merely “money”; they are a safeguard for our customers’ lives and a commitment to accompany them through their life journeys. Since taking office, I have consistently conveyed this message to our employees, believing that our very reason for being lies in “continuing to support our customers’ lives.” From this conviction, we defined our Mission as “Continuing to Support each and every Individual Life.”
　Supporting this mission is our Philosophy, “Sincere Service.” This has long been upheld as our core philosophy, and we have once again reaffirmed its original intent—to base all our corporate activities on fulfilling our three responsibilities: to our customers, to society, and to our employees.
　This approach aligns closely with what is now recognized globally as “stakeholder-oriented management.” Through in-depth discussions, we have redefined the essence of “Sincere Service” and formulated a new Statement that embodies the vision of these three responsibilities: “No matter the circumstances, we remain sincerely close to our customers. By earning trust, we continue to be a necessary presence in society. And with pride in that role, we create the next sense of reassurance.”
　We will share this philosophy and statement among all officers and employees, and together we will steadfastly pursue our Mission of “Continuing to Support each and every Individual Life.”

　Our mid-term management plan for fiscal years 2024–2026, “Next A: Towards the Realization of Our Vision for 2030,” was launched upon my appointment as President. Thanks to your support, we achieved all of our management targets for fiscal 2024, including the number of Group customers. Our profitability and financial soundness have also continued to progress steadily.
　This mid-term management plan is designed to realize our “Vision for 2030.” However, 2030 is by no means our final goal. Rather, we view it as one milestone on our long-term journey to “Continuing to Support each and every Individual Life” well beyond that year, focusing on the actions for this now.
　The core strategy of our mid-term management plan is “Providing optimal products and services for each customer.” Through the advancement of a multi-channel strategy centered on Asahi Life’s sales representative channel and Nanairo Life’s independent agency channel, we aim to deliver products and services that meet the increasingly diverse needs arising from customers’ varied life cycles.
　Within the Group’s main sales representative channel, we are working to steadily maintain our existing policies while pursuing sustainable growth, while Nanairo Life is positioned as a growth driver focused on expanding new contracts. Together, these two channels form the pillars of our Group’s overall growth strategy.
　In light of Japan’s shrinking domestic market due to declining birthrates and an aging population, we established Asahi Life Consulting Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City in 2023. Since 2017, we have been developing consulting services in Vietnam, and this year we have taken the next step by launching a local independent agency business. Going forward, we plan to expand our overseas operations, potentially through M&A, and capture growth opportunities inAsia to help complement our domestic market.

　The majority of Asahi Life’s customers purchase their insurance policies through consultations with our sales representatives. In other words, our customers choose to contract with us because they trust that, when the need arises, they can turn to our sales representatives for personal, attentive support and receive thoughtful, high-quality service. It is our duty to continue meeting these expectations in the years ahead.
　In Japan, the channels through which people purchase life insurance products have become increasingly diverse. Even so, nearly half of all policyholders still choose to buy their life insurance products through sales representatives. This demonstrates that customers continue to place high value on the careful consulting provided at the time of purchase and the reliable after-sales service that follows.
　The careful consulting and service offered by our sales representatives form the very foundation of the added value Asahi Life delivers to its customers. While the ways in which our representatives work and the level of service evolve with the times, the essence of their role remains unchanged.
We believe that ensuring our sales representatives continue to fulfill their essential role of demonstrating their true value as a customer service channel while adapting to changing environments is key to making the sales representative channel a sustainable business model.

　In 2012, we launched sales of Anshin Kaigo, a nursing care insurance product, which has since received strong support and high praise from customers. Thanks to this, the image of “Asahi Life for nursing care insurance” has become increasingly established year by year. In Japan, where the super-aging of society continues to advance, nursing care has become a major social issue. To fulfill our social responsibility of “complementing the shortfall in public nursing care insurance,” we have been actively engaged in the development and promotion of nursing care insurance products.
　However, household penetration of private nursing care insurance products remains at around 20%, indicating both a market with substantial growth potential and a key challenge. We believe one reason for the slow uptake is that the worries surrounding nursing care cannot be solved merely by receiving insurance benefits.
　In response, we are currently finalizing plans and developing our “long-term care and dementia ecosystem.” This initiative goes beyond providing financial protection through insurance by delivering nursing care solutions across every stage, working with partner companies that provide services from prevention and improvement support to family caregiver assistance. Our goal is to build a network that helps resolve the real concerns related to nursing care, not just end our involvement once benefits are paid. For customers, these services offer reassurance and trust because they are introduced through Asahi Life. For our partner companies, it provides opportunities to connect with customers through our introduction. And for Asahi Life, it allows us to deepen customer appreciation and enhance our added value. This ecosystem truly embodies our Philosophy of “Sincere Service.” The key to success will lie in how effectively we can bring together reliable players within the nursing care field. We intend to move forward with a strong sense of urgency and aim to launch the initiative within FY2026.
　We are confident that offering a “long-term care and dementia ecosystem” that allows customers to feel at ease with Asahi Life’s nursing care insurance products will represent a deeper and more meaningful step in addressing the social challenges we are committed to tackling.

　As part of the changes we must pursue, we are accelerating our digital transformation (DX) initiatives to improve operational efficiency. Specifically, we have introduced tools such as “Smart Eye II,” a sales support terminal, and a generative AI-powered internal inquiry response system. These efforts automate time-consuming tasks, reduce operational burdens, and create an environment where employees can focus on more creative work. Another key DX initiative is the effective and efficient use of our extensive database to strengthen sales activities. With a view toward a future of declining workforce numbers, we are promoting business process reforms to enable a smaller team to perform higher-quality and more diverse work than ever before.
　In parallel with efficiency improvements, we are also investing in human capital to enhance individual performance and employee engagement. To raise engagement, factors such as work-life balance, the sense of personal growth through work, and the feeling that one’s job contributes to society are all essential. We especially want younger employees to work with a sense of growth and hope for the future. For instance, when younger staff leave the company, I reflect that one possible cause may be that management has not clearly presented a compelling vision of the company’s future.
　I want every employee to take pride in knowing that, through their daily work, they are earning customers’ trust and serving as a necessary presence in society, and to let that pride drive their motivation. This embodies the true essence of our Philosophy of “Sincere Service.” Realizing this ideal is, above all, my responsibility as the company’s leader.

　Looking back, I feel that my first year as President was a period of sowing seeds. As mentioned at the beginning, during the past fiscal year we focused on reviewing our philosophy system and sharing the company’s vision and direction with employees.
　One of the first things I did after assuming office was to visit our 58 branch offices nationwide to listen directly to the voices of those working on the front lines. With a personal goal of visiting all branches within two years, I completed visits to 29 branches, half of the total, during the first year. At each site, I took questions directly from employees, engaged in candid discussions, sometimes literally sitting knee to knee, and joined informal gatherings where open conversations over drinks deepened mutual understanding. Through these exchanges, I was able not only to hear the real thoughts and concerns of employees in the field, but also to convey my own intentions directly.
　As President of Asahi Life, I make it a point to stay unwavering. I will continue communicating with all stakeholders to ensure that the direction we established last year regarding what the company values most and the vision of the future we seek remains consistent.
　From this second year onward, our focus will be on incorporating our management philosophy into daily operations and initiatives. Step by step, we will work toward ensuring that these efforts bear fruit as concrete results.
　Although not every outcome will appear immediately, we will continue to advance our efforts with the firm conviction that “Continuing to Support each and every Individual Life” is the Mission of the entire Asahi Life Group, and that all of our corporate activities must ultimately contribute to realizing this mission.
　To all our stakeholders, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your continued support and patronage, and I ask for your ongoing understanding and encouragement as we move forward.