For more than 40 years, Yakult Ladies have been visiting elderly people living alone as they make their deliveries to confirm that they are safe and to spend some time chatting with them.
This activity began when a Yakult Lady in Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan, took it upon herself to provide Yakult products to elderly people living alone, at her own expense, after hearing the sad news that one such person had died unnoticed. Her initiative resonated with both the local Yakult marketing company and social workers in the region, and further moved many local governments to take action. As a result, these visits by Yakult Ladies, known as Courtesy Visit Activities, have spread throughout Japan. As of 2020,
3,000 Yakult Ladies are paying regular visits to more than 37,000 elderly people in response to requests from around 131 local governments and other institutions in Japan. Outside Japan, Korea Yakult Co., Ltd. undertakes activities to verify the safety of about 30,000 elderly persons living alone.
Community safety watch and crime prevention activities
Being well positioned to observe every corner of their sales areas during daily delivery rounds, Yakult Ladies contribute to communities’ safety and peace of mind by participating in crime watch and other activities undertaken in cooperation with 828 local governments and police units as well as other local organizations around Japan. As a result of these activities, there have been cases where Yakult Ladies have felt something was not normal at a customer’s residence and reported it to the police, who have found and rescued the person.
As of March 2018, 103 marketing companies* throughout Japan have created organizations to contribute to communities’ safety and peace of mind.
* Including marketing companies under holding companies