I am Yoshida, president of Yamada Shusei Ltd., a professional apparel garment repair group in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture.
The following headline article appeared in the Nikkei Shimbun on May 4. The number of children is the lowest at 14.01 million, and the ratio to the total population is the lowest at 11.3%.
In Niigata Prefecture, according to the May 5 Niigata Nippo, the number of children under the age of 14 was 223,613, a decrease of 7,598 from the previous year. The ratio of children to the prefectural population was 10.7%, down 0.3 points. Both the number and percentage of children have decreased for 43 consecutive years and are at an all-time low.
The phenomenon of the declining number of children and their declining share of the total population indicates the following changes are occurring in Japanese society
Increasing labor shortages: The decrease in the number of children will directly lead to a decrease in the working population in the future. This may lead to a serious labor shortage, especially in labor-intensive industries and service sectors.
Shrinking markets: A decline in the number of young people means a decline in the number of consumers, and the market for products and services targeting young people in particular is expected to shrink.
Increased social security burden: The decline in the working-age population and the aging of society will lead to an increased burden on the social security system. This will have an impact on national finances in the form of lower tax revenues and higher social security costs.
In response to these changes, small and medium-sized business owners, whether they like it or not, will be required to manage their businesses based on the following points.
Utilization of diverse human resources: By proactively employing human resources such as women, elderly, and foreign workers who have been difficult to utilize in the past, we will be able to respond to the labor shortage. Also, consider introducing telework to secure human resources beyond geographical restrictions.
Increase productivity: Achieve high productivity with fewer people by promoting IT and business efficiency. Efforts to increase labor productivity by introducing digital tools and reviewing business processes are important.
Specialize in niche markets: Competition in large markets is expected to intensify as aggregate demand declines. Therefore, a strategy to escape from competition and secure a stable market by offering products and services specialized for specific needs is effective.
In order to respond to demographic changes, we small and medium-sized enterprises must also have flexible management strategies and innovative approaches.
The external environment in which we are all placed is the same. What determines performance in this environment is first and foremost, "What do we do?" Before that, the question is, "With what kind of mindset will we tackle the task? No matter what you do, you will never achieve good results if you do it out of a sense of reluctance or reluctance to do it.
What is the first question to ask yourself after that? The first question is, "What will you do? It is difficult to recover from a wrong choice by concentrating on the task at hand.
It is not a smooth road, but let's keep moving forward.
