NPO法人レッドボックスジャパン（代表理事：尾熊栞奈、以下：レッドボックスジャパン）は、このたびBritish Chamber of Commerce in Japan（BCCJ／英国商業会議所）に加盟しました。

レッドボックスジャパンは、2017年に英国・ポーツマスで始まった社会活動「The Red Box Project」を起点として、2019年に日本で活動を開始しました。学校や自治体、公共施設などと連携し、生理用品の無償提供や生理・健康に関する教育を通じて、学生が生理用品を必要なときに利用できる環境づくりに取り組んでいます。

これまで全国806施設と連携し、2019年の活動開始から50万個以上の生理用品を届けてきました。

英国のデータから考える、生理用品へのアクセスと教育機会

生理用品へのアクセスを考える上で、私たちは「生理用品を提供すること」そのものだけではなく、それによって守られる教育機会や将来の選択肢にも目を向けています。

英国教育省が2025年3月に公表した約51万人を対象とする調査では、15～16歳時の学校欠席と、28歳時点の所得との間に統計的な関係が示されました。

この調査は一般的な学校欠席を対象としたものであり、生理による欠席との因果関係を直接示したものではありません。一方で、学校への継続的な参加が、その後の人生や経済的な機会と関連する可能性を示す大規模なデータとして、教育機会を考える上で重要な示唆を与えています。

日本においても、生理を理由とした遅刻・欠席・早退や、生理用品を入手できないことによる学校生活への影響が課題となっています。

だからこそ私たちは、生理用品へのアクセスを「衛生用品の提供」という一時的な支援にとどめず、必要なときに誰もが安心して利用できる環境を整え、健康と教育の機会を支える社会インフラの一つとして捉えています。

「寄付」から「社会インフラ」へ

レッドボックスジャパンが目指しているのは、学校、自治体、企業、スポーツ団体、医療・ヘルスケア領域など、さまざまな主体が連携し、必要な人が必要なときに生理用品や健康情報へアクセスできる環境を、地域や組織の中に継続的に実装していくことです。

2026年には、企業との連携を通じた学校への生理用品提供や、職場における生理用品の常設など、これまでの「寄付」にとどまらない新たな取り組みも進めています。

また、事業部門であるREDBOX BIOでは、経血由来データを活用した新たなヘルスデータ事業にも取り組んでいます。

社会課題への支援と、健康・データ・テクノロジーを組み合わせることで、女性の健康を取り巻く環境そのものを変えていくことを目指しています。

BCCJ加盟を通じ、英国・国際企業との連携を強化

今回のBCCJ加盟を新たな機会として、英国および国際企業をはじめとする企業・団体との連携をさらに広げていきます。

今後は、

・職場における生理用品の提供

・環境整備企業による学校への生理用品支援CSR・ESGを通じた社会課題解決

・女性の健康・教育に関する啓発スポーツ、ヘルスケア、ウェルネス、フェムテック領域での事業連携

・経血由来データを活用したヘルスデータ領域での協働

など、企業や組織の特性に応じたさまざまな連携を進めていきます。

英国で生まれた社会活動を日本で育ててきた経験を生かし、英国と日本、そして企業・地域・教育現場をつなぎながら、次世代へつながる健康と教育の社会インフラの形成を目指します。

代表者コメント

NPO Red Box Japan (Representative Director: Kanna Oguma; Tokyo, Japan) is pleased to announce that it has joined the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ).

Red Box Japan was founded in Japan in 2019, building on the work of The Red Box Project, which began in Portsmouth, UK, in 2017. We work with schools, local governments, and public facilities to provide free period products and menstrual and health education, helping to create environments where students can access period products when they need them.

Since launching our activities in Japan, we have partnered with 806 facilities nationwide and provided more than 500,000 period products.

Access to Period Products and Educational Opportunities: Insights from UK Data

When considering access to period products, we believe it is important to look beyond the provision of products themselves and consider the educational opportunities and future choices that access to essential products can help protect.

A study published by the UK Department for Education in March 2025, covering approximately 510,000 individuals, found a statistical association between school absence at ages 15–16 and income at age 28.

The study examined school absence in general and does not directly establish a causal relationship between menstruation and absence from school. However, as a large-scale dataset, it provides important insight into the potential relationship between continued participation in education and later-life economic opportunities.

In Japan, delays, absences, and early departures from school due to menstruation, as well as the impact of limited access to period products on students’ school lives, are also recognized as important issues.

For this reason, we believe that access to period products should not be viewed simply as temporary support through the provision of hygiene products. Rather, we see it as part of the social infrastructure needed to ensure that everyone can access essential products when they need them, supporting both health and educational opportunities.

Red Box Japan has explored this topic in greater detail in our article, “Understanding Period Poverty Through Data on 510,000 People in the UK,” examining UK data and the importance of access to period products in Japan.

From Donations to Social Infrastructure

Our vision goes beyond continuing to provide period products.

We aim to create sustainable environments within communities and organizations where people can access period products and health information when they need them, by bringing together schools, local governments, businesses, sports organizations, and healthcare and health-related sectors.

In 2026, we have been developing new initiatives that go beyond traditional donation-based support, including partnerships with companies to provide period products to schools and initiatives to make period products available in workplaces.

Through our business division, REDBOX BIO, we are also developing new approaches to health-data innovation using menstrual blood-derived data.

By combining social impact with health, data, and technology, we aim to contribute to changing the broader environment surrounding women’s health.

Strengthening Partnerships with British and International Businesses through the BCCJ

Through our membership in the BCCJ, we look forward to expanding our partnerships with British and international businesses and organizations.

We are particularly interested in developing collaborations in areas such as:

• Providing period products and improving menstrual health support in the workplace
• Corporate support for period-product provision in schools
• Social impact initiatives through CSR and ESG programmes
• Awareness and education around women’s health and education
• Business partnerships in sports, healthcare, wellness, and femtech
• Collaboration in health-data innovation using menstrual blood-derived data

Building on our experience of bringing a social initiative that began in the UK to communities across Japan, we aim to connect the UK and Japan, as well as businesses, communities, and educational institutions, and contribute to building social infrastructure for health and education that can benefit future generations.

Comment from Kanna Oguma, Representative Director of Red Box Japan

“Our vision goes beyond providing period products. We want to build social infrastructure that supports women’s health and education, creating an environment where every generation can access the health and opportunities they need to thrive. By connecting communities, education, healthcare, and business, we hope to create lasting change that can be passed on to the next generation. We look forward to deepening these connections through the BCCJ and working with businesses that share this vision.”

Kanna Oguma
Representative Director
NPO Red Box Japan

British Chamber of Commerce in Japan

Established in 1948, the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ) has stood at the heart of UK–Japan business for almost eight decades.

Today, the BCCJ is a highly active, independent not-for-profit membership organisation, connecting a community of more than 3,700 members from over 230 companies across 40 sectors, supported by a range of dedicated communication channels.

https://bccjapan.com/