OSAKA, Jan 31 (News On Japan) –
A century-old producer of strain gauges in Taisho Ward, Osaka, is struggling beneath what it describes as a historic surge in uncooked materials prices, highlighting the rising pressure on small and midsize enterprises that underpin Japan’s economic system.
Kobata Keiki Seisakusho, which makes use of metals similar to silver and copper in its merchandise, has been hit particularly laborious by sharp value will increase over the previous 12 months, with the procurement price of silver alone rising roughly fivefold amid international instability, in response to the corporate’s president, Iwao Kobata, who stated a single element prices about 2,000 yen and is utilized in massive portions, including that even he was shocked by how shortly costs escalated.
Although the corporate has held repeated negotiations with shoppers, passing on increased prices has confirmed troublesome, forcing the agency to shoulder the burden for months at a time, with Kobata explaining that even when clients agree to cost will increase a number of months later, materials prices typically proceed climbing, leaving the revised costs inadequate by the point they take impact.
The strain is compounded by labor shortages which might be driving up wages and by rising rates of interest which might be rising borrowing prices, creating what Kobata described as a multilayered pressure on administration, whereas stressing that Japan’s broader economic system can’t get well except small and midsize enterprises regain vitality and urging policymakers to pay larger consideration to small-scale operators like his firm.
Economic and monetary coverage are among the many key points within the present election marketing campaign, elevating questions over whether or not the voices of small companies, which kind the spine of the Japanese economic system, will translate into concrete change, as small and midsize enterprises are stated to account for 99.7% of all corporations in Japan.
Corporate bankruptcies nationwide totaled 10,300 in 2025, up 2.9% from the earlier 12 months, with labor shortages and rising costs cited as main components, whereas actual wages have remained destructive for 11 consecutive months, underscoring the hole between residing prices and revenue progress.
As calls develop forward of this 12 months’s spring labor negotiations for wage hikes that stretch past massive firms to incorporate smaller corporations, the problem stays whether or not pay will increase can outpace inflation and unfold all through the broader economic system.
Commentators notice {that a} pervasive sense of unfairness is fueling public dissatisfaction, pointing to imbalances in contractual relationships the place smaller corporations wrestle to go on prices to bigger companions regardless of authorities efforts to strengthen oversight and publicize company misconduct, whereas broader considerations about widening wealth disparities persist as revenue is taxed however belongings stay largely past the attain of taxation.
With voters weighing a spread of points that have an effect on each day life, the election is seen as a possibility to demand not simply stopgap measures however structural options, as residents are inspired to give attention to what issues most to them and make their voices heard on the poll field.
Source: YOMIURI