I am Yoshida, president of Yamada Shusei Ltd., a professional apparel garment repair group in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture.
Niigata Prefecture has a disgraceful worst record when it comes to traffic manners. One is the rate at which cars pause for pedestrians at crosswalks without traffic signals. The other is the rate of bicycle helmet use. Both are among the worst.
Regarding the percentage of vehicles that stopped temporarily when a pedestrian was about to cross a pedestrian crossing without a traffic signal, 23.2% of vehicles in Niigata Prefecture did so, compared to the national average of 39.8%.
Also, only 2.4% of bicyclists in Niigata Prefecture wear helmets, compared to the national average of 13.5%.
How to deal with these issues is not a matter for the government, but rather for the awareness of each and every resident of Niigata Prefecture, including myself.
Speaking of awareness being questioned, the November 6 Credit Information report showed the "Number of bankruptcies of textile companies in Japan in October 2023. The headline read, "33 bankruptcies and 8.59 billion yen in liabilities, both at high levels," suggesting a pre-Corona disaster phase. By cause, "poor business performance" was the top cause in 32 cases, accounting for 97% of the total.
As a way to prepare managers, I once received the following advice from a senior manager in a different industry.Always be prepared for the possibility of going out of business. On top of that, challenge your vision to the best of your ability.
The business environment is expected to become even more difficult in the future, but if business owners are gloomy and uncertain about the future, they will not be able to make things happen. I would like to keep in mind that we should assume the "worst," make the "best" preparations, and tackle the situation with a positive attitude.
