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JINS revolutionizes sleep in Japan
Aiming to solve the social issue of declining sleep quality through collaborative research with industries and academia

JINS HOLDINGS Inc. (Tokyo Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Founder & CEO: Hitoshi Tanaka, hereinafter “JINS”) is pleased to announce the launch of an initiative which will aim to solve the social issues surrounding sleep by drawing on its accumulated expertise in light.

Approaching issues of sleep by leveraging our expertise in light gained through collaborative research with industries and academia

According to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),*1 Japanese people sleep 7 hours and 22 minutes on average, the shortest duration among the 33 advanced countries surveyed. The term, “sleep debt,” was even coined to refer to sleep deprivation that continues to add up like financial debt. Sleep deprivation is considered to not only impair performance of daily life activities but also increase the risks of obesity and lifestyle-related diseases. According to the international think tank, RAND Corporation, Japan sustains an economic loss of around 15 trillion yen annually (based on the exchange rate at the time of the survey) due to sleep deprivation, bringing attention to the economic impact caused by sleep deprivation.*2
Additionally, Japanese children reportedly have short sleep duration, raising concerns about its impact on children’s development and emotional disturbances, such as increased irritability and anxiety. In response, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare included sleep in the Maternal and Child Health Handbook from the FY2023 edition. The “Sleep Guideline for Health Promotion” is also set to be revised this year for the first time in a decade. With a growing movement to reevaluate sleep, improving the quantity and quality of sleep will become ever more incumbent on society as a whole.
While sleep has been researched from various perspectives, JINS’ research focuses on the relationship between light and sleep. Unlike most other companies in the eyewear industry, JINS has an inhouse R&D office that has carried out years of light research by teaming with industries and academia. As a result of this research, JINS has been one of the first to develop innovative products that expand the possibilities of eyewear, including eyewear that protects the eyes from blue light and lenses that selectively transmit violet light necessary for the eyes. JINS has launched the latest initiative to apply its cumulative expertise in light to sleep, a major issue in modern Japanese society, and contribute to solving this issue as a company.
*1 OECD, “Time use across the world,” Gender Data Portal 2021.
*2 RAND Europe, “Why Sleep Matters: Quantifying the Economic Costs of Insufficient Sleep,” 2016.

Supporting cutting-edge research by world-renowned authorities. JINS is the only member of the Japan Sleep Association from the eyewear industry and also partners with various stakeholders.

Specifically, in 2023, JINS supported a study on sleep and blue light conducted by three world-leading authorities in sleep research: Dr. Seiji Nishino (Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine; Director, Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology Laboratory, Stanford University; MD), Dr. Shintaro Chiba (MD; Director, Ota Memorial Sleep Center, Ota General Hospital), and Dr. Naoya Maeda (Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine). JINS aspires to continue to contribute to medical advances by supporting advanced sleep research and spread scientifically grounded expertise about sleep to the broader society.
Furthermore, JINS has become a member of the Japan Sleep Association (President: Naohisa Uchimura, President of the Japanese Society of Sleep Research), a general incorporated association that announced its establishment on September 4, 2023. Endorsing its mission to contribute to industrial creation and solving the social issues surrounding sleep based on scientific evidence from academia and medical societies, JINS joined the association as the only member from the eyewear industry. We will implement awareness-raising campaigns and develop products in partnership with various stakeholders, as part of our efforts to solve the social issues surrounding sleep through a multifaceted approach based on our expertise in light.