[(Title)] Japanese and South Korean firms look to tap global hearing aid market.

SEOUL – Litalico Inc., a Japanese social enterprise, will use a South Korean startup's technology to tap the global hearing aid market and provide hearing aids at a much more affordable price.

一家日本企业将利用韩国创业公司的技术，致力于全球助听市场，以更便宜的价格提供助听器。

Litalico has acquired an equity stake in Olive Union Inc., which has developed a wireless earphone — linked to a smartphone app — that functions as a hearing aid, and plans to launch it in South Korea and the United States next month as well as in Japan next year.

Litalico公司收购了韩国Olive UnionInc公司，后者开发了一款无线耳机（与智能手机应用程序相连）作为听力辅助工具，并计划下个月在韩国、美国推出，明年在日本推出。

The social enterprise did not disclose the value of the strategic investment, but Olive reportedly has raised 500 million won ($447,000) through the share sale, according to local media reports.

据当地媒体报道，该日企没有披露战略投资的价格。但报道称，Olive通过股票销售筹集了5亿韩元（约合447000美元）。

The new hearing aid, which resembles an earbud, will carry a price tag ranging from 200,000 to 250,000 won ($179 to $224) per piece, about one-tenth the price of a conventional product, an Olive spokesman said.

Olive的发言人称，新的助听计划类似于耳塞，每件价值20万至25万韩元（约合179至224美元），相当于传统产品价格的十分之一。

The number of people with hearing impairments is estimated at about 700 million globally, according to Litalico.

Litalico称，全球听力受损的人数估计约有7亿。

In Europe's major advanced economies and the United States, they account for around 10 percent of each country's population, according to the 2015 Euro Trak, a survey by the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association.

根据欧洲听力仪器制造商协会的一项调查，在欧洲主要的经济发达国家和美国，听力受损的人口占每个国家人口的10%左右。

Last year, the South Korean firm raised more than $800,000 through Indiegogo, a crowdfunding site, to finance its business, Litalico said.

Litalico说，韩国公司去年通过众筹网站Indiegogo募集了80多万美元，为其业务融资。

In Japan, the self-reported hearing-impaired population is estimated at 14.3 million, or 11.3 percent of the total.

在日本，自报听力障碍的人口估计为1430万人，占总人数的11.3%。

Of those, 13.5 percent use a hearing aid, compared with usage rates of 42.4 percent in Britain and 30.2 percent in the United States, according to a similar collaborative survey by Japan's hearing aid industry body and its European counterpart.

根据日本听力援助行业机构及欧洲听力辅助机构进行的类似调查，其中13.5%的人会使用助听器。相比之下，英国的使用率为42.4%，美国为30.2%。

Litalico, which was listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2017, offers job-hunting support and educational assistance for physically disabled or disadvantaged people.

Litalico在2017年被列入东京证券交易所第一市场，为身体残疾或弱势群体提供求职支持和教育援助。

It has also invested in Whill Inc., a Yokohama-based company developing electronic wheelchairs.

它还投资了位于横滨的Whill公司，该公司致力于开发电子轮椅。