Why 99% of Japanese Businesses Are About to Be Wiped Out?
Japan is facing a quiet economic crisis. Every day, more small businesses are shutting down, even ones that are profitable and have been around for decades.
In this video, we explore one of the country’s most overlooked and deeply rooted challenges: the struggle to pass businesses from one generation to the next.
What’s really behind this wave of closures, and what could it mean for the future of Japan and other aging societies around the world?
00:00 Intro
00:43 The Root Causes Beyond Demographics
03:12 Succession Problems
04:56 Why Family Succession Is Collapsing?
11:02 Government Policies and the Rise of M&A Platforms
13:14 Mukoyoshi: Japan’s Adult Adoption System
18:29 What Happens If Nothing Changes?
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32 Comments
#1 Be fluent in Japanese language.
Of course the younger geenration wants nothing to do with that horrible work culture. People die because of the hours their forced to work for thier bosses or end up hanging themselves. The Japanese have brought this upon themselves. God knows they had decades to course correct.
Keep working like crazy and then 過労死. That's jap for ya.
It's sad to say, but it's all pointing to the future of japanese business being under chinese flag, with chinese executives in the office.
I have done business with a globally recognised, medium-sized Japanese company for decades, and it's like hitting one's head against a brick wall. So, what hope is there for smallerJapanese companies if the bigger ones appear to be oblivious to the hard realities of changing markets?
"Japan is facing a quiet economic crisis." – it's not, my TOPIX fund has grewn pretty nice, country is out of deflation, software dev is paying really good(up to 20-30M/year), real estate market is booming etc. Rage baiting garbage
Mmm, I see how sad is to lose long ruled traditional businesses, even more for reasons other than profitability, but I don't think those numbers are right, nor the "apocalyptic smallcompanyless-nobodywillwork" future seems to be claimed here. SMEs may be "replaced" for new ones, but I don't think the SME ecosystem would dissapear as implied on the overbroad title.
Every year new SMEs are created and other closed, as in every country, so I can't believe that 99% are "historical or traditional" in the first place, nor every one of them is going to "dissapear". Mainly because if something is profitable, meaning there's a market for it, maybe won't be the same company (or family) but another would take its place and keep the industry running. And another thing is that not a small number of them aren't profitable now or won't be in the future because of new technology, economy fluctuations, change in society habits, and so forth, then would be closed anyway no matter what and renewed by others…
Yet massive tourism to Japan is above booming. Hordes of Chinese in the millions are immigrating to Japan.
Why? Inefficient manual labor that is impossible (space restrictions), very difficult or very expensive to become automated. Undesirable profit margin to the young generation could be another reason. Refusal to hire and train foreign workers could also be a reason.
What a ridiculous title!!
I don't buy it. Not even 50% will collapse by 2050.
born as Asian the problem of why this thing can happend. that because my parent own a bussiness. actually quite medium size big. we can buy any food any car at any moment.
until
my dad got diabetic. cant do any work anymore. my mother resume my dad work. my big sister join her. dad passed out. only me left. the only boy. then our bussiness is down. not collpase. just when we think want to eat something. we need to think twice. buying car. not in decade.
the point of my story. my father never teach me anything how to run the bussiness. he just left us with anything left.
and this happned a lot eto everybody. like "yeah his dad is the awsome guy. I hope the kid will follow it" turn out. nothing happend
The work culture wait your boss/senior go home, went your work done hours ago really stupid
Japan should consider addressing its prejudice towards foreigners first
I Hit $ 78,590 today. Thank you for all the knowledge and nuggets you had thrown my way over the last week i started with 11k in march 2025…. now i just hit $78,590
@ Kelly Langley – read from the screen your camera is on 😊
Quite an interesting viewpoint from some activist investors here https://youtu.be/5clrR58qj5E?si=GJotGtaduwuiCCCf
Japan has been on Decline after Economic Bubble burst, the Gov apply Quantitative easing multiple time which basicly delay the "Implosion" but not solve it
aka. they delaying the problem – not actualy solving it
Japan also De-Facto is single Party country. with LDP, the Ruling Party only lost control for single period of 2 years(?) – they technicaly rule Japan singlehandedly – longer than Chinese Communist Party rule China. So there is no Political shakeup as there is no opposition to remedy the current slow deflate of Japanese economy
Why do you think businesses should last forever? They ran their course.
Classic first world problem.
That's sad to see small Japanese business are shutting down.😭
If Hoshino Gakki doesn’t keep making Ibanez guitars 🎸 I’m gonna be pissed 😠
Seems to me that this is what happens when people care so much about avoiding change and avoiding strangers that what they value so much dies out.
Updated fertility rate in Japan is 1.15 births per woman (0.96 for women living in Tokyo), not 1.26. The population fell by 919,000 in 2024. This information is from NHK.
I wish I had been born in a situation where I could inherit a business! I would love so much to just take something over and continue honoring the quality of the service provided. If only there were a way for non Japanese to be mentored and trusted to take over family businesses. It’s a scary issue that I’m not looking forward to seeing. I don’t know how it’s going to change our economy. 😢
Working in my family business was the thing I feared most as a child (maybe because of my parents' dynamics), and it forced me to be self-sufficient just to not go back there. Actually my only drive and goal in life was not to work in my parents' shop, and I've succeeded in doing that. Now they are both gone and I miss them terribly.
A lot of these small businesses are profitable because the owners are working insane hours for little wage. Many of the owners discourage their children from taking on the family business because of how hard the work is. It's sad to see these beautiful small businesses go but they just can no longer exist in this modern Japan.
I really love these videos that are in full English. As much as I adore the street and regular interviews also, I’ve personally been in a recent state of never being able to actively look at my phone, only listen and occasionally glance, so it’s really hard to catch up on interesting topics when having to read subtitles. I’m glad Asian Boss is still trucking along 🩵 Been a viewer just about from the very beginning
The Japanese business <> foreign entrepreneur relationship is a catch 22: Japan is (understandably, maybe rightfully) resistant to immigration. Foreigners need to earn Japanese trust, which requires building relationships and getting good at the language. They need a visa to do that, but it's hard to get a visa unless…their language ability is good and they have strong relationships.
Of course, all of this is easier the more money you have. But it takes time to save money, and the more time passes, the more you put down roots in your home country.
I do not worry because when business close other business will open.
"If you keep tradition as the reason when you know that is the one which actually hold you back".
This is ironically the reason and motivation in both side, in one side it's the tradition to be hold by the business owner, in the other side the younger generation didn't want to be hold by this tradition so they go.
but they both need to understand that continuation of that sentences is that
"nothing would be inherited, neither the honor, the glory, the shame, nor the legacy".
Thank you for the great video: clear focus on problem and different options to find a way out!
Sometimes I wonder, how those really small countries manage with keeping their culture and businesses, like Iceland that has only about 390 000 people. What are they doing differently that they manage?