Global Corporate Profile
Otsuka began life in 1921 as a factory manufacturing chemical raw materials in Japan, employing just 10 people. Today, things are very different. Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd. is now the holding company for the Otsuka Group’s six main operating companies. 
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The Otsuka Group conducts business in four main areas of activity: pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, consumer products, and other businesses. 
Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals* Consumer Products Other
Pharmaceuticals Functional foods and beverages Beverages Specialty chemicals
Clinical nutrition Cosmedics (cosmetic + medicine) Foods Fine chemicals 
Diagnostics Over-the-counter (OTC) products  Alcoholic beverages Distribution
Medical devices     Packaging 
      Electronic equipment
*Nutraceuticals is a term that describes foods and beverages with scientific evidence for their benefit in day-to-day health maintenance. Otsuka’s two core businesses are pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. The pharmaceutical business provides comprehensive support for human health to meet the entire range of medical needs, from diagnosis to treatment of disease. The nutraceutical business helps people to maintain and improve their general health and wellbeing.  Visit our global website

Pocari Sweat flies to the Moon

Pocari Sweat flies to the Moon

Otsuka likes to be unique, different and innovative, and in October 2001 was the first company to advertise a drink in space. Russian cosmonauts on board a Soyuz TM-33 rocket heading for the International Space Station filmed the first high-definition television commercial in outer space. Later, millions of Japanese television viewers saw the astronauts sipping from cans of Pocari Sweat, Otsuka’s best-selling sports drink.

In October 2016, we aim to use a rocket launch and subsequently a Moon lander to deliver a 1kg ‘Dream Capsule’ in the shape of a titanium can of Pocari Sweat to the lunar surface. The capsule will contain a powdered form of Pocari Sweat and 38,000 messages that represent the dreams of children from Japan and overseas inscribed on titanium plates. The children who submit the messages will be given a special ‘dream ring’ to open the can. We hope this will inspire young people to become astronauts and travel to the Moon to one day reread their dreams. The capsule will have the distinction of being the first commercial product on the Moon.