English 
In a significant move for Japan’s health-tech field, AITRICS, a medical AI startup from Seoul, established its first subsidiary in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, in March 2025.
Supported by the JETRO Invest Japan Business Support Center (IBSC), this move shows Japan’s increasing interest in advanced AI healthcare solutions, particularly in predictive diagnostics.
What AITRICS Does: AI for Clinical Decision Support
Established in 2016 by Dr. Kwang Joon Kim, a practising physician himself, AITRICS specialises in clinical decision support systems powered by real-time analysis of electronic medical record data. The flagship products it offers include:
AITRICS-VC predicts key patient events, such as sepsis and cardiac arrest. This helps hospitals detect and respond sooner than they could otherwise.
こちらもお読みください： エミュレートと富士フイルム、ブレインチップR1を発表
V.Doc an AI-powered telemedicine assistant improves the accuracy and speed of virtual consultations.
Having already deployed its technologies in over 150 institutions across South Korea, AITRICS is now targeting Japan – a market with an urgent need for digital transformation in healthcare, especially predictive care and automation.
JETRO’s Role in Bridging Innovation and Market Entry
JETRO has played the key facilitating role in this expansion. The Invest Japan Business Support Center assisted AITRICS with arrangements for meetings with Japanese healthcare stakeholders, device manufacturers, and potential collaborators.
IBSC provides support to foreign companies through its “one-stop” platform in terms of regulatory requirements, locations, and even local partners, significantly lowering the entry barrier into Japan’s complex but lucrative life sciences market.
Why Japan? Strategic Drivers for AITRICS
Several structural and demographic factors make Japan an attractive destination for AITRICS:
高齢化: Japan has one of the oldest populations globally. This puts a strain on its healthcare system. It needs efficient, scalable solutions, such as predictive AI.
Workforce Shortages: Hospitals face pressure from not having enough staff. In this context, AI tools that offer early warnings or support medical staff are very valuable.
Regulatory Momentum: Japan is increasingly promoting digital and AI health innovation. With PMDA approval, AITRICS will be able to integrate more tightly into clinical workflows. Support from JETRO accelerates this process by enabling connections with medical device and healthcare companies.
Digital Transformation: The government and private sector in Japan are vigorously promoting digital transformation in healthcare, placing AI at the core of enabling.
Implications for the Japanese Tech & Health Industry
This development may create a ripple effect in Japan’s tech and healthcare sectors.
Accelerated Innovation: AITRICS will drive advances in medical AI. Local startups and large healthcare providers will use or work together to create predictive AI systems. These systems will help advance Japan’s digital health maturity.
Cross-border collaboration: AITRICS acts as a bridge. This could encourage more Korean and Asian health-tech firms to expand into Japan. This reinforces the cross-border innovation ecosystem.
Investment Magnet: Successful integration of AITRICS into Japanese hospitals could attract greater FDI into the country’s AI-health sector. Indeed, Japan is seeing sustained foreign investment interest, according to JETRO’s own reports.
Predictive AI can help reduce lengths of stay in hospitals, avoid adverse events, and better allocate resources-all key benefits to a system under demographic pressure.
今後の課題
Despite the promise, a few risks remain:
規制上のハードル: Many medical AI devices need PMDA approval. This is especially true for predictive systems.
Data Privacy: Handle sensitive patient data according to Japanese privacy laws. This requires careful design and strong governance.
Clinical Adoption: Without clear validation in Japanese populations, hospitals might be resistant to using the AI predictions. They need proof of ROI and, most importantly, clinical efficacy.
Competition: Domestic Japanese startups and large multinationals are racing in AI healthcare. This is increasing the competitive intensity.
Broader Business Impact
From a business perspective, AITRICS’ roadmap to Japan provides multiple lessons and opportunities:
Global Players Look Inwards: This move points to the fact that even global AI-health companies view Japan not just as a market, but also as a long-term partner for co-development and localization.
Policy Wins Matter: JETRO’s support shows how public-private collaboration can reduce the barrier to entry for foreign tech players and further solidify Japan’s position as an innovation hub.
Talent and Know-how Exchange: While AITRICS is growing locally, there is going to be a talent exchange comprising Japanese engineers and data scientists working on AI-medicine, with probably a reverse transfer of knowledge in Korea.
結論
Japan’s medical AI scene is advancing with AITRICS‘ new office in Tokyo. This opens a key chapter in the company’s growth in the region. JETRO has skillfully planned this move to meet a critical healthcare need in Japan. This move can speed up digital transformation in clinics. It will boost cross-border innovation and draw more international investment to Japan’s health-tech sector.
Japan faces challenges with its aging population and medical efficiency. AITRICS’ predictive AI tools can help shape the future of healthcare in the country. This development can greatly affect Japan’s technology ecosystem.
日本語