Wearsafe Labs, a U.S. company that sells a mobile safety app that alerts families during emergencies, is expanding to Japan.
The company has partnered with former New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui for the international launch, according to a news release.
"Wearsafe enables my family to instantly communicate, so I can send the right type of assistance," Matsui said in the release. "It is an honor to be the Wearsafe brand ambassador in Japan."
The Wearsafe app can be activated by saying a phrase in English, Spanish or Japanese or by simply tapping the app on an iPhone or smartwatch, the release said. Contacts then immediately receive an alert by mail or text with the exact GPS location of the family member needing assistance.
"Wearsafe can instantly connect individuals living abroad and parents with children, in school or away at college," the company said in the release. "During COVID, the Wearsafe platform transformed into a Smart PPE application that provided another layer of protection and communication to those living apart."
The Wearsafe platform and enabled devices have been used in more than 115 countries across the world, said the company, which is based in Hartford, Connecticut.
"Growing up in the small town of Neagari, Ishikawa (now Nomi, Ishikawa), my parents instilled strong family values in my brother and me while supporting my dreams of playing professional baseball," said Matsui, who had a long baseball career in Japan before joining the Yankees. "Since graduating high school I have lived apart from my parents, and although there was distance between us even in Japan, there is greater distance and a significant time-zone difference with the U.S. Since 2003, I have felt that my family is really far away from me. At that time, if we had Wearsafe, I think it would have been very reassuring."