With 70,000,000 in assets and 250 million in debt…former vice-president of Tokyo Women’s Medical University, who “bled from the anus” in a medical accident, is ready to take on the challenge of starting a yogurt business.

Blood from the anus…the despair of an elite doctor

Dr. Kazuhiko Hayashi served as vice president and director of the cancer center at Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital. He has had a spectacular career, demonstrating his outstanding skills as a gastrointestinal surgeon and studying in the U.S. for research on cancer genes. Having followed an elite course as a physician, Dr. Hayashi dared to give up his position of authority and started his own business at the age of 60.

He started a yogurt manufacturing company called Kagurazaka Dairy. Why did he leave behind a 35-year career at a university hospital to take on the challenge of entering a different industry? It had to do with a medical accident that occurred at Tokyo Women’s Medical University more than 10 years ago.

At the time, I was in the position of vice president in charge of medical safety and had to work tirelessly to apologize to the bereaved families, deal with the mass media, and conduct interviews with the police, all without sleep or rest. Until then, I ate well, had good bowel movements, and was in good health. I thought my mental health was steel, but the stress worsened my intestinal environment, and I stopped having stools altogether,” he said.

Within a week, his stomach was bloated with stools, he could not eat, and he vomited up gastric juice.

Unable to do anything about it, I had to take five to ten times the amount of laxatives that I would prescribe to my patients. The stools I had to force out were hard lumps like stones, and when I defecated, my anus would tear and bleed. The stools were hard like stones, and when she defecated, her anus would tear and she would bleed, followed by diarrhea, and so on. Because of the bleeding, he was also severely anemic, and his blood count was less than half of the standard value …….”

In addition to medication, he adopted a bowel-friendly diet and exercise, but there was no improvement. Although he was a gastroenterologist, he felt ashamed that he could not save his own body. He thought, “I must get my body back to health as soon as possible.” Based on the medical knowledge and evidence he had cultivated, he began to search for a way to regulate the intestinal environment.

I started this research to save myself. I turned my child’s room at home into a lab, read papers from all over the world, and pursued bacteria and formulas that were good for the intestines. In the beginning, far from being yogurt, I made a kind of culture solution and drank it every day with my nose in my mouth.”

It did not taste good, but during the two years of research, I continued to drink it and gradually my health condition stabilized. As he continued his trial-and-error search for a better taste, one day he suddenly produced a delicious yogurt. This became the prototype for the “Kami Gurt” sold at Kagurazaka Dairy.

The Limitations of the Scalpel” as Realized by a Master Doctor

Hayashi became a doctor after the death of his beloved father. His father, a dentist, passed away from stomach cancer when Hayashi was 15 years old.

From that point on, cancer became the theme of my life,” she said. In order to become a doctor who treats cancer, he spent his high school and college years studying and working part-time, and at the age of 25, he obtained his medical license. As a gastrointestinal surgeon for about 10 years, I experienced many difficult surgeries, but I realized that there were some lives that could not be saved no matter how excellent my skills were.

Therefore, in his 30s, he became an endoscopist, aiming for early detection and treatment. After returning to Japan, he continued to deal with cancer patients as an anticancer specialist and palliative care physician, and at the age of 46, he became the director of the Cancer Center at Tokyo Women’s Medical University.

In an age when two out of three men and one out of two women suffer from cancer, it is not surprising that the disease is so familiar to Japanese people. Despite the fact that cancer is such a familiar disease, the cancer screening rate in Japan is still low by global standards. Patients who are diagnosed with cancer are often at a loss for words, saying, ‘No way, it’s me.

Cancer in young people is particularly distressing. For example, a female patient in her 30s who has cervical cancer has a husband and small children, her parents and parents-in-law are still young, and her grandparents are still alive. When one person gets cancer, many family members are saddened. Although there are cancers that can be prevented or detected early with screening and vaccines, many people felt there was too little proper knowledge.”

Concerned that without knowledge, the public’s risk of cancer will only increase, Mr. Hayashi focuses his efforts on cancer awareness activities. He not only speaks to adults, but also takes the initiative in visiting junior high schools and elementary schools to give lectures and hold events.

He also approached the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) and stressed the need for proper cancer education for children. However, he was turned away by the government officials, and in frustration, he enrolled in the education department of a correspondence university, obtained a teaching license at the age of 56, and once again approached the MEXT as a doctor x teacher. Cancer education became a required subject in junior high schools in FY2009 and in high schools in FY2010.

Mr. Hayashi’s mission was not only to cure cancer, but also to “communicate” cancer. The medical accident occurred in the midst of his energetic activities, and not only did it deprive him of his awareness-raising activities, but also his healthy body.

250 million in debt!　Challenges from the bottom up

He started making yogurt for his own health, but his wife and friends were so pleased with his yogurt that he decided to leave Tokyo Women’s Medical University and start his own business, hoping to make more people healthy. However, it was not all smooth sailing.

I decided not to hire any employees until we were in the black,” he said. One day, about three years later, my wife brought me a bank book and asked, ‘What about our retirement? and ……. When I looked at the bankbook, I found that the balance in the account was 68,035 yen. I had put almost all of my money into the account.

He had reached the limit of his funds, but there was a reason why he could not give up.

I have seen many people quit their jobs after getting cancer. A survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare found that 34% of working cancer patients resign voluntarily or are laid off. Many people are diagnosed with cancer and quit their jobs before treatment begins. I had a strong desire to employ those who were no longer able to work as before due to their illness and provide them with a place to work.”

A new life started at the age of 60. As in the past, there was an underlying desire to help cancer patients. Although he did not advertise the product at all, the media gradually picked up on the “yogurt made by a doctor,” and orders poured in. The product became such a hot topic that sales were temporarily suspended.

Four professional members, including a hospital pharmacist, an operating room nurse, and a fermentation specialist, joined Hayashi’s team and agreed with his enthusiasm. Currently, 70% of orders are for regular purchases, and many purchasers say they cannot do without the product.

And in 2012, they opened a new factory in Tochigi. In order to build the new factory, his house was mortgaged and his personal debt ballooned to about 250 million yen, but he remained determined.

We don’t just make and sell yogurt. His goal is to create a safe working environment for everyone through the production of medical food, and to communicate this to society.

There are many people in the world who are unable to work due to illness, nursing care, childcare, or other reasons. I want to create a company where these people can work short hours, demonstrate their abilities, and earn high wages. I believe that our role as a venture company is to realize a new and flexible way of working and make it permeate society.

Dr. Kato, who has learned more about the preciousness of health than any other person through his own serious illness, is now a doctor. He became a “yogurt maker” at the age of 60, and his second life is a never-ending challenge to “save his own body and the lives of others.

Kazuhiko Hayashi is the president of Kagurazaka Dairy Co. Doctor of Medicine. He has served as Vice President of Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital and Director of the Cancer Center. He has been engaged in cancer care for more than 35 years as a gastrointestinal surgeon, endoscopist, and palliative care physician. His own poor health led him to begin research on the intestinal environment, and he developed yogurt.” In 2008, he retired from a university hospital and established Kagurazaka Dairy. Currently, he is challenging crowdfunding in order to spread the new taste of “Kami Gurt.

Click here for the official website of “Kami Gurt