It's Not Just About Age
The video points out that Japan’s population is aging, and many owners are retiring with no successor. But here’s the deeper truth: countless businesses shutting down are still profitable. They’re not being abandoned because they failed economically. They’re being abandoned because the system refuses to imagine a future not bound by the past.
The succession problems dominating this space aren’t natural. They’re designed.
- Inheriting a family business is framed as duty, not opportunity
- Government programs are poorly matched to reality on the ground
- Many operations resist even basic modernization, making them unappealing to younger successors
A vibrant 60-year-old tofu maker in Kochi told us he’d rather shutter the store than “let some stranger mess up the taste.” His son works in Tokyo. No one local wants the job. The shop is closing next spring.
Cultural Design Flaws
Much of this begins with Japan’s deeply rooted household structure: the ie (家) system. This concept goes back centuries. It emphasized family continuity, responsibility, and inheritance through bloodlines or carefully selected heirs like mukoyoshi (adopted sons-in-law). The business was the house. The house was the name.
Even after post-war reforms officially dismantled the legal framework of ie, the mentality remained. Honor your ancestors. Protect the brand. Don’t let outsiders in.
This creates enormous internal pressure. If no one in the family wants to take over, the founder sees retirement as abandonment. Selling the business to a stranger is viewed as surrendering your name.
So the shop closes.
The Real Cost of Cultural Rigidity
The Myth of Profitability
People assume that if a business is profitable, it should survive. But in Japan, profit doesn’t protect you from social pressure or outdated expectations. Legacy brands aren’t always valued. Often they’re a burden.
There are sushi shops making ¥10M a year in net profit, with no one lined up to take over. Why? Because the kids don’t want to inherit 16-hour days, low social status, and a business tied to one neighborhood.
This is why Japan business closures keep increasing. Profitability doesn’t matter if continuity feels impossible.
A Quiet Collapse with Loud Effects
Each shuttered business sends out shockwaves.
In Tokyo, it might mean one less bento shop. In Wakayama, it could be the only hardware store for 20 kilometers. In Ibaraki, it might be the community center that was also a cafe.
These closures hollow out towns. They leave behind boarded windows and stories with no future. And once they disappear, they rarely come back.
A 90-year-old soba restaurant in Yamanashi closed last year. The building is still there. But mold is creeping through the tatami. The sign has faded. People drive past and feel something has gone missing—even if they didn’t eat there often.
This is not just about economics. It’s about identity loss. Memory degradation.
What Akiyaz Sees
At Akiyaz, we view this as a design opportunity. Rather than waiting for a family heir to magically return, we focus on succession problems as systems design failures.
We work with sellers who are ready to be honest. Buyers who are ready to build. Municipalities that are ready to support new models.
Our Work Includes
- Facilitating conversations between elderly shopkeepers and first-time foreign buyers
- Helping local officials see how flexible zoning could save a historic commercial corridor
- Coordinating with lawyers to make ownership transfers clearer and faster for non-Japanese applicants
- Supporting entrepreneurs who want to combine legacy with innovation, like turning a closed fish processing facility into a craft brewery
We believe that succession should be reframed as selection.
Other Nations Watching
Japan is not alone. South Korea faces similar succession rates. Germany’s Mittelstand—small and midsize family businesses—are beginning to experience their own demographic cliff. In the United States, baby boomer-led firms are closing at a historic rate, with millennial buyers preferring to start fresh rather than inherit.
But Japan offers a cautionary tale of what happens when continuity is prioritized over adaptability.
The question is not, “Who will inherit?” but “What conditions would allow someone to care enough to stay?”
Rebuilding Legacies by Redesign
Akiyaz believes that there is a path forward. But it must begin with three shifts:
- Normalize external successors
Businesses should be encouraged to find the best next operator, not the nearest relative. - Digitize and document
Even simple improvements like digital inventory systems or written manuals can make a huge difference for transfer readiness. - Leverage lifestyle migration
Many people want to live in Japan, but don’t know how to stay. Linking succession opportunities to visa programs—like investor or management visas—could create a powerful pipeline of new business leaders.
Let the Torch Pass, Even If It Burns Differently
The point of a legacy isn’t replication. It’s continuation.
Let the next soba master change the recipe. Let the next innkeeper turn the ryokan into a co-working and arts retreat. Let it evolve.
This is not cultural erosion. It’s cultural preservation through use. Through relevance.
Letting it sit silent guarantees only decay.
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