Hello everyone!
This is Takahashi from WiLLDesign, Inc.
WiLLDesign’s first product, “WiLReji,” is only 3 months away from its launch.

We have been working hard to realize our goal of “enriching the lives of immigrants in Japan”.
I would like to share with you how we have researched over and over again to realize this idea, and how we have gone through a process of trial and error.

Have you noticed an increase in the number of immigrants recently?
The number of foreigners working part-time at convenience stores in front of train stations, izakaya (Japanese-style pub) staff, gas stations, and other places close to consumers has been increasing.

Specifically, the number has increased by approximately 1.2 million (1) over the past 10 years, By 2067, the number of foreigners living in Japan is expected to reach approximately 9.15 million, The percentage of foreigners in Japan is expected to reach 10.2%(2) of the total population.

In a Japanese society where coexistence and co-prosperity with foreigners will become even more necessary in the future, we believe that what we are doing is extremely valuable.

We believe that WiLReji will be a great value to more and more immigrants and Japanese through this article,
I have interviewed CEO of WiLL Design so that we can convey our new definition of a restaurant to as many immigrants and Japanese as possible through this article.

*1: See “Table 1: Number of Foreign Residents by Nationality and Region” by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
*2: Refer to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (NIPSSR) 2023 survey.

Table of Contents

Background of WiLReji
Impact of WiLReji
Explanation of WiLReji
Prospects for WiLReji (WiL PJ Overview)

Background of WiLReji

Takahashi: Why did you decide to develop WiLReji?
Sanjay: The development of WiLReji was inspired by my experience at a restaurant owned by my father.
Actually, my father is Nepalese and an asian food restaurant owner who has opened more than 5 restaurants in Japan.

When I was a student, I used to work part-time at my father’s restaurant and he used to say things like this.
The cash register is difficult to use. I don’t know how to use it.
It was one of the words I was used to, but I didn’t pay attention to it at that time,
However, after founding an IT company (current WiLL Design) with the aim of changing the lives of immigrants, I have recently come to strongly believe that it was an important comment that I should not have overlooked.

I remember that in 2019, there were about 6,000 Indian restaurants in Japan, and I think that the number of complaints about the cash registers was probably tremendous and loud, even if you consider Asian restaurants in a broader sense.

So, I felt that the father’s word and the supply and demand matched,
that’s when I decided to start WiLReji.

Takahashi: It is a great respect for parents and a wonderful opportunity to be inspired by your father’s words and the environment he gave you in the field!
How was the path from the start of the project to commercialization?
Sanjay: It was extremely difficult (laughs).
The hardest part was raising funds.
We were in need of significant assistance to guarantee the functions and quality of the cash registers we were developing, so we considered using business restructuring subsidies (*3).

Many of you may not be aware, but there is a subsidy system where the government assists with part of the costs.

However, the hurdle for being selected is quite high, and a clear and meaningful story was required, such as why we decided to create WiLReji and what kind of social impact this register will have.

At that time, I asked myself once again why I wanted to pursue WiL Reji.

The conclusion I came to was, ‘It’s not that I want to sell registers; I want to sell the seeds of thought on how to improve the business.

My father has been running a restaurant for over 20 years, and I respect him for running a successful restaurant that way.
But on the other hand, it is also true that there are some lonely restaurants run by the same foreigners.
I am sure you have all seen them around town.

Every time I saw that, it pained me. Why isn’t this store doing well?

I repeatedly thought about how we could make it a successful business, not just for visa purposes.

At that time, my father said to me:

‘I don’t even know how to increase the store’s sales in the first place, and even if I did, I wouldn’t know how to implement it. I want to ask someone about what I don’t understand, but I don’t even know who to ask. Running a business in a foreign country is like being in a state of not knowing more than 90% of things because of language barrier.’

I realized he was right.
As a foreigner living in Japan myself, there were so many things I didn’t understand about life here. If everyday life is like that, business must be even more difficult to grasp.

That’s why I wanted to create a service that could serve as a compass for store owners, showing them the way.
This led me to decide to develop WiL POS and the upcoming WiL PJ (WiL Project).

*3 Business Restructuring Subsidy: Top page | Business Restructuring Subsidy (jigyou-saikouchiku.go.jp)

Impact of WiLReji

Takahashi: You are taking this approach coupled with your own personal experience.
How exactly will the creation of this POS system affect restaurant owners?
Sanjay: We believe that we can increase sales at our own restaurants and make our business more viable!
Those who are migrant workers will be able to send more money home, and those who are here with their families will have a richer lifestyle and feel more value for Japan.

This will lead to two or three generations raising children in Japan on an ongoing basis, and not only will foreigners play an active role in Japan,
We believe that this will create a Japanese society in which immigrants can not only play an active role, but also contribute to solving social problems such as the declining birthrate and aging population.

I also want to make a big impact on the staff working in those restaurants!
When I worked at my father’s restaurant, 80% of the staff were foreigners living in Japan.
Probably many Asian restaurants employ a similar percentage of foreigners.

At that time, I often heard about the “sending money problem.
It is very difficult to send money to a foreigner and live in Japan with a small salary.

So, by increasing the sales of the restaurant, the wages will increase,
We hope that our POS will have an impact on the staff and their families to the point where they can have a better life.

Explanation of WiLReji

Takahashi: Yes, that’s right! It would be great if we can create a Japanese society where immigrants residents can become more affluent!
So what specific functions are included in a cash register that improves sales?
Sanjay: It has the basic functions of a POS cash register, such as payment functions, attendance management, and customer analysis,
However, we are particular about the language setting function in anticipation of foreign users!

A button for switching languages is placed in the header section,
The language switch button in the header allows you to instantly operate the system in the native language of the staff member performing the work, depending on his/her nationality.

We plan to support not only major languages such as English and Chinese, but also languages that are rare in other services, such as Nepali, Vietnamese, Hindi, Thai, and other Southeast Asian languages that are often used in restaurants in Japan.
In the future, we will also introduce generative AI,

We are also steadily preparing to build a system that will generate marketing ideas to increase store sales based on customer data.

For those foreigners who can generate data but do not “know” how to utilize the data, this AI function can be utilized,
By utilizing this AI function, you will be able to do web marketing for your store that you could not do before.
We believe that this will help solve marketing problems that were previously unknown and increase store sales.

Prospects for WiLReji

Takahashi: I see!
What kind of future do you have in mind when you start selling this new type of POS cash register with these features?
Sanjay: As I mentioned earlier, WiLReji is basically a cash register for Gaikokujin-owned stores operating in Japan!
Our next development is not limited to restaurant owners, but we would like to develop services for individuals immigrants living in Japan.

For example, we would like to provide real estate and employment support services for foreign consumers living in Japan.
For example, we plan to develop five services by 2027 that cover areas close to essential lifelines for foreign consumers living in Japan, such as real estate and employment support.
We call these mid-term plans “WiL PJ (Project).

We believe that competition for foreign labor will intensify in Japan’s society in the future.
This is because they are the best human resource to improve the current situation where the working population is expected to decrease.

At that time, we believe that it is very significant to create an environment that makes it easier for foreigners to live in Japan!
However, it is too steep a road for us to promote this initiative on our own. That’s why we are looking for collaborators.

We are looking for foreign residents who will actually use our services, of course,
We would like to invite collaborators from various fields, including companies and local governments that share our business, as well as foreign residents who will actually use our services, and we would like to give shape to this project together.

That is why we have undertaken this interview!
We sincerely hope that through this article, you will correctly understand the meaning, purpose, and vision of our project, and that the number of like-minded people will increase.
If anyone is interested, please feel free to contact me via the contact form or phone! Let’s talk once!

Takahashi: Thank you very much!
Do you have any final message for our readers?
Sanjay: WiLReji and other services will penetrate among foreigners, and we will lay the foundation for a safe, secure, and prosperous life in Japan.

It is because of my own real life experience that I have struggled,
I feel an extraordinary sense of mission to reform this!
If I don’t do it, who will?
Japanese society will become more active,

The gap between Japanese and immigrants will disappear, international marriages will spread, and Japan will not take on foreigners, Japan will have business competitiveness that is unrivaled by other countries.

WiLLDesign aims to be a company that can contribute to the development of the Japanese economy.
We will be very happy if our thoughts and actions reach and resonate with as many people as possible! Thank you very much!