Approaching harmful microbes with the power of nature.

ORALPEACE is an oral-care product made only from water and plant-derived ingredients, formulated with Neonisin-e®—a patented, naturally derived lactic-acid-bacteria peptide.

Recognized for excellent usefulness against bacteria that cause oral troubles, it is digested and broken down in the body even if accidentally swallowed or aspirated, so it is recommended for people who have difficulty spitting.

Unlike conventional oral-care products, it can be used safely by a wide range of ages—from newborns to pregnant people and older adults—even in environments without water, making it ideal for disaster preparedness. In evacuation shelters where routine oral care is difficult, it helps reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia and other complications.

In Japan, the world’s most rapidly aging society, more than 6 million people now require nursing care. Annual care costs exceed 10 trillion yen and are projected to swell to 25 trillion yen by 2040, becoming a major social issue alongside the increasing burden on caregivers. As a universal challenge for humanity, similar aging problems are expected to arise worldwide on an even larger scale in the future.

In Japan today, approximately 300 people die each day from aspiration pneumonia, and more individuals are suffering from tooth decay, periodontal disease, bad breath, and aspiration-related lung troubles caused by bacteria that proliferate in the mouth. The burden of oral care performed by caregivers and families is heavy, and in real-world settings there is a strong need for care that is simple, safe, and effective.

In Japan—the world’s leading super-aged society—oral hygiene and oral-care settings for people requiring nursing care, people undergoing cancer treatment, people with disabilities, people with injuries, and others urgently require products that target the bacteria causing oral troubles such as oral candidiasis, aspiration pneumonia, periodontal disease, tooth decay, bad breath, and stomatitis.

To meet the invention needs for 21st-century “oral-hygiene moisturizers”—namely products that are “safe when swallowed because they are digested and broken down while killing bacteria,” that “protect the gut flora,” and that are “100% biodegradable even when released into the environment”—

by applying research and technology (STI) from Japan’s national research institutions, a new generation of toothpaste and oral-care products for all humankind has been created.

Based on more than 20 years of lactic-acid-bacteria biotechnology research—“controlling harmful bacteria with beneficial bacteria”—by Kenji Sonomoto, Ph.D. (Engineering), Professor Emeritus at Kyushu University (formerly Professor of Microbial Engineering, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyushu University; former President of the Japan Society for Lactic Acid Bacteria; former President of the Society for Biotechnology, Japan),

the products incorporate Neonisin-e®, a patented lactic-acid-bacteria antimicrobial peptide (bacteriocin) formulation.

Created from nisin—the only antimicrobial peptide (bacteriocin) approved for use in foods worldwide—the patented formulation Neonisin-e® targets oral trouble-causing bacteria such as mutans streptococci, Pg bacteria, Candida, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus.

Compared with conventional antibiotics and synthetic bactericides, it approaches these bacteria instantly at ultra-low, parts-per-billion (ppb) concentrations, while remaining a toothpaste and oral-care product that is 100% food-grade, chemical-free, plant-based, and 100% biodegradable—even if swallowed.

The long-standing, seemingly contradictory challenges that conventional chemical technologies could not overcome—“efficacy against causative bacteria at ultra-low concentrations, together with high biodegradability and safety”—have been resolved through cutting-edge research on lactic-acid-bacteria antimicrobial peptides and green technology from Japan’s national research institutions.

From this singular invention—found nowhere else in the world—has emerged an oral-care brand for a new era that is considerate of the environment and gentle on both the body and nature, opening new possibilities for sustainable human development. Originating in Japan, it is expanding to approximately 15 countries worldwide, including across Europe.

And since 2022, it has been selected as an item to be carried aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in collaboration with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), supporting astronauts’ health under extreme conditions and contributing to humanity’s advance into space.

From Japan—the world’s most aged society and a global leader in science and technology—

we hope to share, as soon as possible and through a compassionate and sincere social-contribution initiative that helps the vulnerable, the research outcomes of this 21st-century sustainable green technology that combines clinical effectiveness, safety, and low environmental impact, with people around the world who are in need.

Creating jobs for people with disabilities through innovative oral-care products

The ORALPEACE Project

We are a Japanese biotechnology venture that pioneered, for the first time in the world, the path to medical and healthcare applications of lactic-acid-bacteria antimicrobial peptides—bacteriocins that “control harmful bacteria with beneficial bacteria.”

Researchers, clinicians, engineers, and public institutions work together to develop unprecedented, swallow-safe, plant-based, innovative oral-care products that pursue clinical effectiveness and safety, contributing to humanity’s development while improving oral environments without burden for infants to older adults worldwide and supporting healthy daily life and the extension of healthy life expectancy. At the same time, we connect this innovative research and technology to social contribution by

serving as a social venture rooted in volunteer organizations supporting people with disabilities—beginning with parents of children with disabilities—creating jobs for people with disabilities nationwide who have limited income from their main employment and addressing the “after parents are gone” issue;

reducing the ever-increasing burden on medical and caregiving personnel due to global aging; supporting disaster-affected regions; and protecting Earth’s environment through green technology as part of sustainable social-contribution activities.

Thus, we are also a social venture led by people directly affected by these social challenges.

Furthermore, in the 2020s we have taken on the role of a space personal-care-products venture, gathering the wisdom and technology of all humankind to research, develop, and manufacture products necessary for human life in space and taking on the frontiers of science to contribute to humanity’s development in the era of living in space.

Meanwhile, environmental destruction and the frequency of disasters on Earth continue to increase. Early responses to CO₂ reduction to curb global warming, the conservation of water, and the initiation of space development as a pathway for humanity are becoming realities without waiting for the distant future.

We must join forces to overcome these human challenges—bringing together diverse wisdom from around the world and meeting them with humanity’s most advanced technology.

ORALPEACE responds to the need to balance effectiveness and peace of mind through frontier lactic-acid-bacteria research and biotechnology based on STI from Japan’s national research institutions.

Aiming to realize a society in which people support one another in times of difficulty, the ORALPEACE Project is developed by professionals gathered from many fields who combine their strengths, and with the help of many supporters, we are expanding a mission of love from Japan—the world’s most aged society and a leading nation in science and technology—to the world and into space.

What we wish to deliver are healthy, happy days for families.

The joy of living with the people most important to you, the courage to overcome anything for the ones you love, and irreplaceable days.

We aim to share those feelings with people across Japan and around the world.

We would be grateful if you would lend your strength as partners who support this project so that we can open the future together.

Thank you for your kind support of the ORALPEACE Project.

ORALPEACE project