Grace Technology

Grace Technology, Inc. is a Japanese company specializing in the creation, consulting, and management of technical manuals for various industries. Founded on August 1, 2000, by Koji Matsumura, the company originated from the e-manual business idea立案. Matsumura's precursor company, the Japan Manual Center, established in 1984 as Japan's first manual production company, faced a management crisis, leading to the establishment of Grace Technology. The new entity received investments from notable firms including SoftBank Investment (now SBI Investment).

The company's core business revolves around two main services: the Manual Order-Made Service (MOS), which involves technical writing and translation, and the Manual Management System (MMS), a cloud-based service known as 'e-manual' for the electronic management of manuals. This system allows for the creation, distribution, and management of technical documents online, aiming to reduce costs and improve efficiency for its clients, which include major domestic and international IT and manufacturing companies. Over the years, the company expanded its services to include video manuals, log analysis for user engagement, and consulting on manual standardization.

Grace Technology experienced significant growth, leading to its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market in December 2016 and a move to the First Section in August 2018. However, the company faced a major setback when an accounting scandal was uncovered in November 2021. A special investigation revealed that the company, under the leadership of founder Matsumura, had been systematically recording fictitious sales from as early as its 2016 fiscal year. The total amount of these fraudulent sales reached approximately 2.347 billion yen, constituting a significant portion of its reported revenue. This scandal severely damaged investor confidence and led to the company's delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on February 28, 2022, after it failed to submit its quarterly financial reports on time. Following the founder's death in April 2021 and the subsequent fallout from the scandal, the company underwent a management change. In 2023, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hayate Management Inc. after a third-party allotment of new shares and a stock consolidation.

Keywords: technical manual creation, manual management system, technical writing, document translation, e-manual, manual consulting, cloud manual service, industrial documentation, user guide development, MOS, MMS, manufacturing manuals, IT manuals, document digitalization, technical communication, content management