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JAPAN: Women Make a Mark in Niche Businesses

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Dec 15 2006 (IPS) - Rie Nakamura, a tall, slim woman in her forties, started her company – a highly sophisticated portal sourcing and delivering packaged food from 6,500 companies – in 2002 and now reports annual sales that touch more than six million US dollars.

”The beginnings of my venture were extremely humble,” Nakamura told IPS recently, explaining that after the birth of her son, twelve years ago, she simply wanted to be able to spend more time at home and hit upon the idea of starting her own company that would allow her to do just that.

Nakamura says that while she works very hard, her dream of being able to look after her son has worked. She personally prepares his daily school lunches – a symbol of motherly love in Japan – and can be back home to watch over his studies.

Nakamura, according to experts, represents a new breed of women in business and the service sector in Japan who have, ironically, learnt to turn their social restrictions to advantage.

‘’Japanese women, long relegated to the responsibilities of their gender that focused on being a good wife and mother, have cleverly used this role to start highly successful companies,” said Mayumi Okada of Chau Planning, a company providing incubator services for aspiring women entrepreneurs.

Okada feels that Japanese women are far more flexible in their attitudes than men, having to rear children, work in the community and look after the family. ‘’This background makes them capable of taking the risks that come when starting businesses. They are also good at judging the needs of people more than men which gives them a head start in certain lifestyle oriented businesses,” she said.


Indeed, a spate of new businesses that focus on providing services and goods that cater to improving lifestyles are now being launched and managed by women.

The public National Life Finance Corporation in Tokyo reports that out of the total number of loans offered in 2005 to the sector that includes youth, men over 55 years and women, the last category had the largest share at 5,583 compared to 2,692 for older men and 2,842 for young people.

In 2000, women who took low-interest loans to open new businesses numbered 2,637, showing a steady increase since then. On average they borrowed around 50,000 dollars as capital under a soft repayment scheme for three to five years.

Surveys conducted by the organisation showed that women usually invested in businesses covering beauty and health products and services, environment protection, drinking establishments, and clothing.

‘’The trend shows that women-led businesses are concentrated on the needs of their gender. Our goal is to expand the number of female presidents in Japan,” said director Shigeru Yamaguchi, adding this sector is expected to increase jobs for women.

As Japan’s population ages, leading to predictions of a 30 percent drop in the workforce by 2050, the concept of expanding the number of women entrepreneurs is being enthusiastically embraced by government officials who have begun to see women as a lifeline for the national economy.

In a report released in early December, the Health, Welfare and Labour Ministry warned that unless the government succeeds in promoting measures that would allow more elderly people and women to stay in jobs, the working population would drop to as low as 44.71 million – just 67.3 percent of 66.2 million in 2004.

In many seminars and support systems now being offered for aspiring female presidents, Nakamura was a guest speaker at a high profile business seminar organised by the Osaka prefectural government in late November that was geared solely to women and included their counterparts from Asia.

She recalled how difficult it was for females to succeed in the tough working environment – obtaining bank loans, lack of business experience were some issues – but also pointed out that the challenges were well worth it.

‘’I have to work doubly hard to prove myself as a person who can be respected like my male counterparts,” she explained.

Government figures show that while women comprise almost half of Japan’s 63 million labour force, only 18.3 percent are executives and 2.8 percent top-level managers.

Still, whether Nakamura’s success can be representative of the lives of women entrepreneurs in Japan remains to be seen.

Mari Yamaguchi, 52, who recently closed her furniture shop in Roppongi, an expensive area in Tokyo, says she was exhausted after spending ten years trying to keep her shop afloat.

‘’It’s a constant uphill struggle as a woman to make ends meet given the male-oriented business environment you are faced with. You must deal with sexual harassment, constantly being turned down by male bank officials who see women as risky investments, and a society that generally thinks women are best left looking after a family,” she said.

Bando, 31, who just started her own business ‘Aiiro Kobo’ that produces natural soaps from plants, credits her success to her husband who is her business partner.

”His support is indispensable to my work and the success of the company as he provides me with guidance when dealing with difficult business relations with the outside world about which I know very little,” Bando, a former piano teacher, told IPS.

Both Yamaguchi and Bando insist that starting their own ventures is worth the effort, in the long run.

”Our businesses can also contribute to the betterment of society, environment and the lot of women, which is what we want to do along with being company presidents,” said Bando.

 
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