LIFE-Focused LIFULL

Since its founding in 1995, LIFULL has addressed the challenges existing in people's everyday lives.

At the very core of this lies a single desire: "to bring happiness to the person right before us."
Our journey began in the realm of housing, driven by the challenge to create a society where each individual can access the information they need and make choices that align with their authentic selves.

Since then, LIFULL has expanded its value proposition and domains of focus in response to changing societal and technological landscapes.
Throughout an ever-changing era, what values have we cherished most? And how have we brought those values to life?
Here, we look back on LIFULL's trajectory alongside key turning points across our history.

Chapter1

Driven by the Desire to Bring Happiness to the Person Right Before Us: The Start of Our Challenge

19952002

"Bring Happiness to the Person Right Before Us" — The Roots of Our Corporate Motto "Altruism"

LIFULL's foundation rests on the desire to "bring happiness to the person right before us."

When founder Takashi Inoue was working as a newly hired developer handling condominium sales, he encountered a couple deeply disheartened after failing their home loan review. Setting aside his own company's immediate profits, Inoue gathered property listings from competitor firms to help them find a home.
Later, the couple expressed their heartfelt gratitude: "Thanks to your dedication in searching from our perspective, we found a wonderful home." This experience became the catalyst for our desire to "bring happiness to the person right before us" and the origin of our corporate motto, "Altruism."

Founder Takashi Inoue in the early office

A Challenge Launched from a Single Room with Capital of 50,000 Yen

Driven by the desire to "bring happiness to the person right before us," Inoue sought to transform the information asymmetry and opacity of the real estate industry, founding Next Home in 1995.
Operating out of a single six-tatami-mat room with just one computer, capital of 50,000 yen, and Inoue himself—the challenge began within remarkably modest beginnings.

Floor Plan of NEXT HOME's First Office

The Birth of "HOME'S": From Paper to Web: Making Housing Search Accessible

Recognizing the potential of the emerging internet, we shifted the housing search from paper to the web, taking on the challenge of building a new framework to deliver housing information to a broader audience.

In 1997, Next Co., Ltd. (now LIFULL Co., Ltd.) was established, launching the real estate and housing information website "HOME'S" (now "LIFULL HOME'S").
What began as a challenge in a single domain—housing—eventually evolved into our ongoing journey of addressing every aspect of daily life.

Early HOME'S Interface

Early Property Listing System Interface

Evolution of the HOME'S Logo

Chapter2

From Housing to Daily Living: Expanding Our Business Domains

20032016

From Housing to Moving and Nursing Care: Delivering Value Across Daily Life

Alongside the growth of "HOME'S" (now "LIFULL HOME'S"), we evolved beyond simply providing housing search information into a company that addresses challenges surrounding people's daily lives.

In 2003, we formulated our Management Philosophy, which guides us to this day:

Create a social structure that enables more and more people
to enjoy peace of mind and genuine joy through continuous innovation

Through this, we expanded our founding commitment—"to bring happiness to the person right before us"—into a broader value proposition for society at large.

Building on the foundation of "HOME'S," we expanded our business domains into adjacent services such as moving and senior care. By addressing challenges before, during, and after the home-seeking process, we broadened the value we deliver across all aspects of life.

Service map across housing and daily life

Relationship Diagram of Corporate Motto and Management Philosophy

Listing on TSE Mothers and Building Public Trust

In 2006, we listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) Mothers market (now the Growth Market). Having strived since our founding to eliminate information opacity in real estate, going public marked a major turning point, allowing us to deliver value to even more people while gaining societal trust. We continued to grow, transferring to the TSE First Section in 2010 (transitioning to the Prime Market following the 2022 market restructuring).

Post-listing, we continued to broaden our business scope. In 2007, Renters Co., Ltd., a system provider for real estate companies, became a wholly owned subsidiary—establishing the foundation for our business support services, including what is now "AD Master."

This business growth earned external recognition; from 2005 to 2007, we were selected for Deloitte's "Japan Technology Fast 50" for three consecutive years. In 2005, we were also ranked in Deloitte's "Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500," recognized as a rapidly growing technology company.

Ceremony for the TSE Mothers listing

A New Touchpoint in the Smartphone Era: Japan's First Dedicated Housing Search iPhone App

As the internet environment shifted from PCs to mobile phones and smartphones, we launched Japan's first dedicated housing search iPhone app in 2009.
Our proactive stance in adapting to changing user touchpoints to create more convenient, accessible services has been faithfully passed down from our founder to our employees.

Screen of Japan's first housing search iPhone app

Visualizing Real Estate Prices with Big Data

In 2015, we launched "HOME'S Price Map," leveraging big data to visualize reference property prices and offering a new value-add in data-driven home searches.
This initiative drew government attention, and in 2016, it was featured in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "White Paper on Land" as a notable example of leveraging big data in real estate information systems.

HOME'S Price Map screen

Chapter3

Rebranding to LIFULL: A Company Focused on LIFE

20172023

Rebranding to LIFULL Under the Corporate Message "Make Every LIFE FULL."

In 2017, Next Co., Ltd. changed its company name to "LIFULL Co., Ltd."
This rebranding was a major strategic transition, signaling both internally and externally our evolution from a housing-focused company into an enterprise dedicated to all aspects of human life and living.

Make Every LIFE FULL.

Our new corporate message embodies the commitment we have held since our founding: to enrich the lives of every single individual.

NEXT Co., Ltd. to LIFULL

Defining "LIFULL-ness" and Nurturing It as Our Corporate Culture

Taking the rebranding as an opportunity, we re-articulated our core values and clearly established "LIFULL-ness." This comprehensive effort to redefine our brand, corporate value, and business domains culminated in winning the "Best of the Best" award at the Japan Branding Awards 2021.

Furthermore, our initiatives in organizational development and employee engagement were recognized with the "Best Motivation Company Award," establishing a firm foundation for nurturing a distinct LIFULL corporate culture.

Japan Branding Awards 2021 and Best Motivation Company Award

LIFULL Quality Standards

  • Life-centered Does it fulfill people's lives?
  • For Everyone Does it respect people's individuality?
  • Well-being Does it contribute to people's well-being?
  • Focused Does it focus on the true essence of the subject?
  • Amazing Does it amaze people?

LIFULL Quality Standards — Our Promised Quality Standards for All Delivered Value Across Services and Products

Addressing Challenges from Individual Needs to Broader Societal Issues

Under the banner of "Make Every LIFE FULL.," LIFULL expanded its business-driven value delivery to tackle various societal challenges.

Looking beyond housing to the broader context of regional living and community, we launched "LIFULL HOME'S Akiya Bank" to utilize vacant houses as regional resources. Participating in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's model project, we worked to solve regional issues through property utilization.

In 2018, "LIFULL FaM"—which began by supporting working mothers—expanded its scope through partnerships with local municipalities, shifting its role from supporting parenting generations to supporting diverse working styles in regional areas.

In 2019, we established "LIFULL HOME'S ACTION FOR ALL," expanding support systems so that individuals facing housing search difficulties—such as the elderly or foreign nationals—can find homes with confidence.

Addressing Social Issues

LIFULL FaM

LIFULL regional revitalization Fund

ACTION FOR ALL

Welcoming "Kenbiya" to the Group: Expanding Real Estate Value

Further solidifying our real estate footprint, we welcomed "Kenbiya Co., Ltd."—a specialist in real estate investment and income-generating property information—as a subsidiary in 2020. Welcoming a partner who shares our ambition to generate new social value enabled us to expand beyond residential housing information, catering to diverse real estate needs across the board.

Kenbiya by LIFULL

Transitioning to a New Executive Leadership: A Dual Structure with the Founder and Next-Generation Leaders

In 2023, LIFULL executed its first-ever presidential transition. Founder Takashi Inoue stepped into the role of Representative Director & Chairman to oversee overall group strategy, while Yuji Ito was appointed as the second Representative Director, President & Executive Officer. Under this dual leadership structure of founder and next-generation leader, we strengthened executive execution and governance, transitioning to a robust new management era.

Chairman Takashi Inoue and President Yuji Ito

Chapter4

Creating New Value Through the Collective Power of the LIFULL Group

2024Present

Housing, Real Estate Investment, Senior Care, and Regional Revitalization: Connecting Business Domains to Leverage Group Synergies

The environment surrounding people's lives is undergoing massive transformation due to population decline, aging demographics, and rapid technological advancements.

In the real estate investment domain, we integrated the databases of "Kenbiya" (which joined the group in 2020) and "LIFULL HOME'S Real Estate Investment." By applying the sales expertise built through "LIFULL HOME'S," we expanded our client base and drove business growth. In the senior care sector, we deployed "LIFULL HOME'S" product development and user acquisition expertise to "LIFULL Nursing Care," extending our problem-solving capabilities across daily living.

In regional revitalization, "LIFULL Regional Revitalization" combines vacant property data with financial, human resource, and property utilization capabilities across the Group, transforming idle real estate into new value.

In HR and business support, we evolved the insights gained from "LIFULL FaM" to offer group-wide structures that enable diverse individuals to work flexibly according to their personal environments.

LIFULL Group business domains centered on housing

Combining Web and AI to Support Each and Every Individual

To connect Group knowledge and data and deliver enhanced value to every user, LIFULL is actively leveraging AI technology.

In 2022, we introduced "AI Homes-kunBETA," an AI-driven interactive search assistant that learns individual preferences through conversation to recommend optimal homes. In 2025, we launched "LIFULL AI," an integrated AI agent that connects 30 years of accumulated LIFULL data to propose optimal solutions for every user. As a first step, we are integrating "AI Homes-kun" as an interactive search assistant in the housing domain.

Additionally, "LIFULL HOME'S" utilizes AI to automatically detect and unlist bait properties, applying AI to enhance real estate information transparency—a mission we have pursued since day one.

Furthermore, starting in 2026, we launched an internal AI talent development and certification program, expanding AI implementation beyond product features into daily operations and new business creation.

From Paper to Web, and to Web × AI.
LIFULL will continue to harness evolving technologies, connect group synergies, and stay close to each individual's LIFE to generate new value for the future.

LIFULL AI, an AI agent with access to all of LIFULL's data

Driven by Human × AI Synergy and Unchanging Passion,
LIFULL Evolves into the Next Era

LIFULL's history is defined by our continuous dedication to confronting and solving the changing challenges of everyday life across generations.
From the internet to big data, and now AI—even as our technologies and services evolve, our core passion to "bring happiness to the person right before us" remains unchanged.
By combining human compassion with the power of AI, we will connect even more deeply with each individual's LIFE and create new value to eliminate societal dissatisfaction and inconvenience.

LIFULL will continue to evolve—staying close to every LIFE, tackling social issues, and striving to fulfill our mission: "Make Every LIFE FULL."

Our Identity