[Founder Interview #6] Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Aoyama-Itchome Chiropractic Clinic) – Part 2
The Body is an Executive’s Precious “OS”:
Maximizing Productivity by the Investment of One’s Posture
In this second part of our three-part interview, we dive deep into the profound impact that loneliness and mental stress can have on executives’ physical bodies. We reveal the striking parallels between a professional’s perspective—analyzing patients’ walking style, facial expression, and tone of voice before they even sit in the chair—and an investor’s evaluation of an entrepreneur’s “human OS”. Director Yamaguchi also shares the fundamental, biological truth that posture and facial expression mutually reinforce each other, and he opens up about the exact moment that set him on his lifelong path to chiropractic medicine.
(This interview was conducted in March 2026.)
If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you can do so here.
◆An Entrepreneur’s Body is Like an “OS”, and Posture is an Investment towards Maximizing Productivity
Sugihara:
I believe this topic is incredibly vital for young entrepreneurs in the IT and tech sectors. Many of these founders belong to a generation that has had a smartphone in their hands for as long as they can remember. Could you break down what happens when you have poor posture in a way that speaks directly to them?
Yamaguchi:
As I emphasized earlier, I want leaders to view correcting their posture not simply as a health routine, but as a direct investment to ensure the success of their current business—an investment to maximize their productivity.
For corporate executives and others who work in startups, your physical body is like your OS (Operating System). No matter if you have amazing software (i.e., your skills and strategies), they’re meaningless if the underlying OS isn’t running smoothly. That OS is your own body.
Sugihara:
Right, if the OS is full of bugs, you won’t be able to realize the framework you’ve envisioned in your head, even if you have great apps.
Yamaguchi:
Precisely. While your health is not all about posture, posture is still a deeply important part. That is the exact message I want to convey.
◆Stress Stiffens the Body: the Mechanism of Mental Fatigue
Sugihara:
Within D-POPS GROUP, we have 25 group companies and have invested in about 30 other portfolios. Their leaders are all working incredibly hard across various fields to solve pressing social issues.
However, various forms of pressure—such as cash flow issues or HR problems—start to hit once people step into an executive role, yet many find themselves in a position where they can’t talk about it with anyone. Call it the loneliness of leadership if you will, but they have to persevere while carrying burdens they can’t share. Does this kind of condition easily contribute to physical ailments?
Yamaguchi:
There is physical fatigue, which comes from holding up or carrying something. But there is also mental and emotional fatigue; the exhaustion caused by constantly having to be overly mindful of others, the pressure of endless problem-solving, or being caught in the middle of conflicting parties. This also can cause muscles to stiffen.
In fact, while physical fatigue can be relieved to some extent by moving and stretching, mental fatigue often causes a greater effect on the physical body.
Take the old Japanese idiom, “Drowning in debt so deeply your neck won’t turn”. Continuously worrying about something or experiencing hardships one after another causes your neck and shoulders to become incredibly stiff, leading to insomnia, migraines, etc. People in ancient times were purposely verbalizing those exact physical symptoms. That phrase describes one of the classic physical symptoms triggered by extreme stress.
When the idiom was coined, the word “stress” didn't even exist, but to put it in modern terms, “stress physically prevents your neck from turning”.
I once treated a CEO from a foreign company who didn’t know much Japanese. Suspecting that his chronic headaches and neck pain were purely stress-induced, I asked him in English, “How do you like your new boss?”, to which he replied, “He’s a pain in the neck.” In Japanese, the equivalent phrase would directly translate to ‘He hurts my head’, but it’s clear that in both Japanese and English, people express the biological truth that stress targets the neck.
◆Cranial Nerves Directly Affect the Neck and Shoulders: the Biological Mechanism of Stress
Sugihara:
So, continuing to internalize all that pressure will impact the body.
Yamaguchi:
Exactly. People who spend an entire day working alongside someone they have to tiptoe around or completely clash with, they’ll often have stiff necks and headaches by evening, even if they weren’t sitting down. That isn’t physical exhaustion; it comes entirely from emotional fatigue.
The reason for this is that most movements below the shoulders are controlled by nerves originating from the spinal cord—a body part with no emotions—so no matter how mentally exhausted or stressed you are, your arms or legs won’t suddenly refuse to move. However, motions in the head, neck, and shoulders are connected to the cranial nerves, which emerge directly from the brain itself, which processes your emotions. Mental stress, anxiety, frustration, and worry travel directly along those nerves, causing the muscles in the neck and shoulders to immediately tense up.
There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves. Among them, the 11th pair—known as the accessory nerves—directly stimulates the major muscles responsible for moving the neck and shoulders, such as the sternocleidomastoid muscle. When this specific nerve is compromised by emotional stress, your neck won’t turn and your shoulders become as hard as rocks.
Also, nerves come out of either the left or the right sides of the body. If a right-handed person experiences tension exclusively on their left neck and shoulder, there’s a chance that it’s not being caused by a behavioral habit like how they hold their smartphone, but rather, it might be resulting from a cranial nerve.
◆The Path from Young Train Enthusiast to Chiropractor
Sugihara:
Spoken by a true professional, ha ha.
By the way, had you been aiming for this specific career path since your student days?
Yamaguchi:
No, not at all, ha ha! Back in my student days, I was completely obsessed with steam locomotives. I spent all my time traveling across Japan, from the wilderness of Hokkaido down to the southern tips of Kyushu, just to take photos of trains. I was a total fan of train photography.
But since I had absolutely no money, I traveled on an incredibly grueling budget and schedule. I’d catch a train at midnight, scramble to make a transfer around 3:00 AM, and finally arrive at my destination around 6:00 AM. Combined with the return trip home, it was quite rough on my body. My family home was in Shinjuku, so I would frequently drop by the Kinokuniya bookstore to stand in the aisles, using books about stretching as references.
Even after graduating from university, that habit of visiting Kinokuniya stuck with me. One day, while wandering through the orthopedics section, I found a book written by a chiropractor titled Improper Backbone Shape Triggers These Illnesses. When I picked up that book, I had no idea what was inside, but it became the very reason why I entered the chiropractic world.
The book’s contents were absolutely fascinating to me. Until that moment, I had always assumed physical pain was exclusively caused by overdoing things or bumping into something. But this book claimed that poor posture alone could cause problems for all sorts of body parts. I found it so intriguing that I immediately called the phone number printed in the book, and they pointed me toward an institution where I could actually study chiropractic medicine.
◆Quitting a Job, Working Part-Time Every Night, and Studying until Morning
Yamaguchi:
I agonized over the decision for a few months, but I finally made up my mind, quit my corporate job, and worked part-time while studying. At the time, I worked at Potomac, a traditional-style coffee shop inside the Akasaka Prince Hotel. My shifts ran from 4:00 PM until 12:30 AM. Afterward, I’d get a ride back to my home in Waseda and keep studying until daybreak.
However, that study schedule didn’t bother me in the slightest. Perhaps because my sympathetic nerves were stimulated from my part-time job, I was able to stay very focused deep into the night. Just like when I was studying for university entrance exams, my brain was operating at full power. Every single day, I would completely lose myself in anatomy textbooks until dawn. Just as it was becoming light outside and people were starting to walk around, I’d fall asleep. Then, I’d wake up in the afternoon, and head back to work again.
Looking back, I sometimes wonder if my father’s experience as a combat medic treating wounded soldiers in the war got passed down to me through DNA or something. He wasn’t a military surgeon, but as a combat medic, he still treated countless individuals under extreme pressure. I am not a medical doctor either, but the fact that I have dedicated my life to preserving people’s health makes me feel connected to him somehow.
Sugihara:
How many years ago did you first become independent?
Yamaguchi:
My first time trying to go independent was about 40 years ago. I was naive, so I simply registered my home address as a chiropractic research institute and mailed advertisements to dozens of companies listed in the quarterly business journal. I remember pouring a drink and eagerly waiting by the phone to see how many responses I’d get…but of course, there weren’t any, ha ha. There were no personal computers back then, so I had simply typed a plain text document on a word processor. No diagrams, and no one whom I could use as a reference. It was just a letter stating, “I wish to help meet the health needs of your company’s employees.”
However, when I shared what I was doing with my mentors and close friends from university, three of them actually went out of their way to negotiate with their respective employers. They managed to get permission for me to utilize their companies’ medical rooms and employee lounges once a week or twice a month. Instead of having to force my way in, I was able to build up my practice through those companies officially.
Later on, I was contacted by a famous practitioner in Shibuya who recruited me into one of Japan’s top-tier chiropractic clinics. Their clients were prominent figures from various fields, including three former Prime Ministers, professional athletes, executive members of major businesses, major real estate companies, and the aviation industry, well-known celebrities, etc.
Sugihara:
And you call that your ‘training period’? Ha ha…
Yamaguchi:
Yes, that really was my training period before I went independent.
At that clinic, some of the patients wouldn’t pay any attention to me, but when the director entered, they would smile happily and start a conversation. When I saw that, it ignited a fighting spirit inside me. After all, it was perfectly natural that none of them would be particularly interested in talking with a young kid, since they were coming to see the director, who they felt would keep their bodies in good health. At some point, I had the thought that I would become like him someday.
◆A Professional’s Perspective: Analyzing a Person through Walking Style, Facial Expression, and Tone of Voice
Sugihara:
In your line of work, dialogue must be a critical component of administering an effective treatment, right?
Yamaguchi:
It is absolutely necessary. Observing the way a patient walks through the door, their responsiveness when speaking, or any subtle deviations from their usual baseline is part of the treatment, not just the physical adjustment.
Keep in mind that patients who are bordering on clinical depression, for example, present themselves with a rounded spine and a downward gaze the moment they enter. Even the person’s response to a greeting can signal that something is not right. I approach every treatment by holistically evaluating a person’s walk, sitting posture, facial expression, and voice.
Sugihara:
I resonate with that deeply. Back when I worked in business development, and even now when I interview entrepreneurs as an investor, it is exactly the same.
Naturally, I ask structural questions about their business model, market domain, and technical solutions. However, what I am truly analyzing is the expression on their face when they walk into the room, the level of confidence radiating from their answers, and the way their eyes light up when you hit them with a poignant, spot-on question. My primary goal is to thoroughly evaluate the individual’s underlying OS. It’s the same sort of evaluation.
Yamaguchi:
I actually conducted a survey among students at Waseda University regarding their impressions of individuals with rounded backs. The overwhelming responses were descriptions like “lacks confidence”, “frail”, or “looks like life isn’t going well”. Furthermore, a slouched posture is a primary reason people look prematurely aged.
Conversely, an upright, elongated spine not only projects youthfulness but physically lifts the muscles that control facial expression and optimizes blood flow to the brain. When posture collapses, cerebral blood flow stagnates, causing brain activity to decelerate. Correcting your alignment is truly a strategic investment that simultaneously optimizes both your internal state and your external presence.
Sugihara:
Absolutely, a slouch immediately projects a lack of confidence. I pay close attention to facial micro-expressions during interviews as well. Occasionally, someone will give off a distinct negative vibe or energy. No matter how eloquently they speak, it makes me pause and reconsider forming a deep partnership with them.
Alternatively, when reconnecting with an entrepreneur after a while, even if they say, “I’m doing great,” I will cross-reference that statement against their posture, eye strength, and overall expression. If I sense an underlying misalignment, I gently prompt them to tell me if anything is wrong, and adjust how I interact with them if necessary.
Yamaguchi:
Facial expressions dictate your physical state, and your physical state dictates your facial expressions. This goes both ways. For example, when a patient’s stomach lining is inflamed, the distress often manifests as acute tension in the upper back. While I cannot physically massage someone’s internal organs, relieving the tension in the back muscles can indirectly soothe the stomach. The same principle applies to depression. By physically unburdening and loosening the spine, I can often alleviate some of the emotional weight clouding the mind. The body and the mind are profoundly and inextricably linked.
~To be continued in Part 3~
Interview conducted by D-POPS GROUP’s advisor Genta Sugihara.
Aoyama-Itchome Chiropractic Clinic
Director: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Address: 740 Win Aoyama, 2-2-15 Minamiaoyama, Minato, Tokyo
Website: https://aoyama1.jp/
Next, in the third part of the interview, we discuss:
・The move to Aoyama-Itchome and the spirit of altruism that led to appearing on TV
・Essential reasons why business leaders must be healthy, according to Soichiro Honda
・Similarities with a Venture Ecosystem
・And other topics
Be sure to check it out here:
https://d-pops-group.co.jp/en/column/aoyama1-yamaguchi-part3/
