I want to realize a world where everyone can obtain information equally and hope that many people will think, "I'm glad there is Tsuruha Group."

2024/06/04

Please tell me about your current job responsibilities.

As the head of the newly established Media Promotion Department within the Strategy Division in January 2023, I strengthen web promotion for public relations across the Tsuruha Group, create content such as videos, PowerPoints, and company brochures, manage the overall strategy for the homepage, SNS, and MEO measures, and handle distribution operations.

 

What prompted you to consider web accessibility compliance?

During the refresh of the homepage of the eight brands of the group in November 2023, I heard from pharmacist staff that we received feedback from customers such as, "I can't see anything due to color blindness" and "the text is too small and hard to read, so I want it read out loud." That was when I first learned about web accessibility.

At that time, as inbound demand was on the rise, I was considering a rapid push for multilingual support. However, information from pharmacists who directly listened to customers made me realize the necessity of addressing not just multilingual support, but also accessibility.

Also, my family member has a disability, and I feel that there is a lack of consideration for people with disabilities in daily life. I have decided to improve accessibility as I want to provide appropriate information to people with various symptoms.

 

Background to the Implementation of Uniweb

While I knew I needed to address web accessibility, I didn't know where to start. While I was pondering what to do, I learned about Uniweb from staff at the group company, Ready Pharmacy, and I requested materials from Kiva.

From April 1, 2024, the Act on Eliminating Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities will be amended, making the provision of reasonable accommodations, which previously was a duty of effort for businesses, mandatory. Although there are no penalties, I felt the need for our company to respond more quickly than anyone else.

After requesting materials, I initially tried Uniweb with a demo, and I found it very attractive that I could freely change the position and size of the Uniweb icon as well as its color to match our brand color and site's tone and manner.

 

Please tell us about the number of days and man-hours it took to implement Uniweb.

The process of implementing Uniweb was simply placing a tag in the tag manager, so it was easy to do in about three minutes. The admin interface was intuitive and very easy to understand.

Uniweb has a reporting feature targeted at JIS X 8341-3:2016 / WCAG2.1 for each site, allowing for the visualization of achievement rates. We are also working with external vendors to address areas that need urgent improvement.

 

Do you have any future goals?

I hope that even one more person who casually uses Tsuruha Group stores will think, "I'm glad Tsuruha is here" or "Tsuruha helped me" when they encounter a problem. The catalyst for this was the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in March 2011.

At that time, I was a sales representative for a recruitment support company, assisting with the creation of Tsuruha's recruitment homepage and TV commercial production. The day after the Great East Japan Earthquake, I received a request to confirm the safety of student job offer holders, and I used the homepage and SNS to verify their safety. Due to the earthquake, approximately 100 stores were damaged, and there were employees who lost their jobs and those who lost their homes. Amid those circumstances, the then-president said, "If your house was washed away, come to Hokkaido; we will protect everyone's employment," and I felt it was a wonderful company. That made me love Tsuruha, and I first learned that drugstores can become lifelines.

Whether in stores or online, Tsuruha Group aims to create a world that is friendly to everyone. First, we aim to fully implement Uniweb in areas within the group that have not yet adopted it, such as private brand sites and applications.

As more group companies are expected to join in the future, we aim to ensure that the entire group diligently addresses web accessibility, creating a world where everyone can obtain correct information equally.

 

Tsuruha Holdings Co., Ltd.
Director Takuya Iwata, Media Promotion Department, Strategy Division.

I joined Tsuruha Career Support in March 2013 and transferred in July of the same year to the Human Resources Recruiting Department of Tsuruha Holdings at headquarters. To strengthen recruitment, I completely revamped the hiring operations and was promoted to leader in May 2015. Later, my recognition for implementing online utilization in recruitment activities during the COVID-19 pandemic led to my appointment as the head of the newly established President's Office in April 2020 to promote DX across the entire group. Since January 2023, I have been responsible for media promotion for the entire group.

 

《Uni-Web Implementation Site》
In the case of the Tsuruha Holdings corporate site, an icon was placed on the right side.

By clicking on the icon, an accessibility menu appears, allowing users to switch text-to-speech features and screen contrast with just one button.

• Tsuruha Holdings: https://www.tsuruha-hd.com
• Tsuruha Group e-shop main store: https://shop.tsuruha.co.jp
• Tsuruha Group Store Locator: https://shop.tsuruha-g.com
• Tsuruha Drug: https://www.tsuruha.co.jp
• Kusuri no Fukutaro: https://www.kusurinofukutaro.co.jp
• Drugstore Wellness: https://www.wellness-web.co.jp
• Wants: https://www.wants.co.jp
• Ready Pharmacy: https://www.lady-drug.co.jp
• Kyorindo Pharmacy: http://www.kyorindo.co.jp
• B&D Drug Store: https://www.bd-drug.com
• Drug Eleven: https://www.drugeleven.com

 

About Uniweb

UniWeb provides web accessibility features "on the day of deployment" by simply adding a single line of code to all web services.

In order to achieve equal website services for all, we want to put users in various situations, such as those with visual impairments or those who temporarily lose the use of their hands due to injury, in a position to understand correct information through various uses such as voice reading and contrast changes.

Site:https://hellouniweb.com