Today's Close-Up S2024E11 - Small Businesses Thrive: Enlivening the Community with Personality

A growing number of Japanese people are pursuing their dream to start a small business. A shift in consumer preference toward small-scale, authentic goods over mass-produced products, and a surge in local government support packages, means the time has never been better. Low start-up and running costs ensure that these agile operations carry considerably less financial risk than their bigger counterparts. In some cases, they're even solving community problems, offering consumers choices they didn't have, or reviving once-dying shopping strips. NHK went to check out a number of ventures and interviewed an expert to see how small businesses can potentially point the way forward for Japan.

Guest:
Nagayama Munehiro (Professor, Komazawa University)