In April 2022, we announced "Our Purpose" in order to define our role in society and the benefits we provide.
Our group operates a funeral business as well as an end-of-life support business. Our services assist seniors enjoy fulfilling and worry-free lives by helping solve a variety of issues involving daily activities and the last stage of life.
We help make people's lives even better as a source of comprehensive support for sound relationships between seniors and their family members.
The SAN HOLDINGS Group end-of-life support business has three components. First is products and services provided through the end-of-life services portal site for seniors operated by subsidiary Life Forward. Second is support provided by KOEKISHA, SOU-SEN and TARUI (the group's three funeral companies) before and after funerals. Third is the operation of rehabilitation day-care facilities and provision of meals at senior care centers by subsidiary EXCEL SUPPORT SERVICE.
As we continue to extend this business to more business domains, we remain dedicated to improving our customers' quality of life by meeting a broad range of their needs and creating and offering new services.
The percentage of seniors in Japan's population has increased from only 4.9% in 1950 to 10% in 1985, more than 20% in 2005 and 28.1% in 2018. According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, this percentage will continue to increase and be 35.3% in 2040, when people in the second baby boom generation (born between 1971 and 1974) are over the age 65.
Issues in the lives of seniors are becoming even more diverse as the number of people in this age segment continues to grow in Japan. As interest in end-of-life requirements increases, there is significant demand for quality support services that seniors can rely on with confidence.
The SAN HOLDINGS Group is dedicated to providing sincere assistance to family members and others when they say farewell to a loved one. People are at the heart of these activities. This is why we place emphasis on training programs, including encouraging our people to pass the examination of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for directors of funerals and other ceremonies. Our entire organization is working every day on ways to continue improving our services. Supporting all of these activities is a corporate culture where people take the initiative to advance and are not afraid to change and take on new challenges.
The San Holdings Group is made up of a total of 10 companies, including companies that provide funeral services, funeral-related services, and end-of-life support services, with the holding company San Holdings, Inc. as the parent company. Our aim is to provide high-value-added services through collaboration between each of the Group companies. We enhance the value of our services to customers by sharing information, success stories, know-how, and other insights related to business and organizational management.
