A Japanese diaper maker introduced that it’ll cease producing diapers for infants and can, as an alternative, concentrate on catering to the nation’s growing old inhabitants with grownup nappies.
Oji Holdings, which primarily produces paper merchandise, mentioned in an announcement that it’ll cease producing disposable diapers for infants in September this yr.
As a substitute, domestically, it’s going to strengthen the grownup disposable diaper enterprise.
The corporate mentioned within the assertion that this can be a strategic transfer because it intends to pay attention investments on companies with “excessive profitability and progress potential.”
In response to BBC Information, gross sales of grownup nappies have outpaced these for infants in Japan for the primary time in over a decade.
This comes because the variety of infants born in Japan sunk to a report low final yr, falling for an eighth consecutive yr to 758,631, in line with Japan’s Well being and Welfare Ministry.
Issues over the implications of a declining start charge have led to Japanese officers sounding the alarm.
Japan’s Chief Cupboard Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi warned final month that the state of affairs was “crucial” and there was little time to reverse the pattern.
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, mentioned final yr that his nation was on the point of being unable to operate as a society due to the declining start charge.
The nation’s demographic challenges go far past declining birthrates. It is also grappling with a quickly growing old inhabitants.
Final yr, for the primary time, a couple of in 10 Japanese folks had been aged 80 or over, in line with nationwide information.
The United Nations Inhabitants Division famous that Japan has the oldest inhabitants on the earth, with 29.9% of the 125 million inhabitants being 65 or over.
Low start charges and an growing old inhabitants threat dramatically shrinking Japan’s inhabitants, which is estimated to fall by about 30% to 87 million by 2070, The Guardian reported.
Oji Holdings’ pivot on account of shifting demographics mirrors the same transfer made by Unicharm, Japan’s greatest diaper maker, over a decade in the past.
In response to Bloomberg, Unicharm mentioned in 2011 that its gross sales of grownup diapers surpassed these for infants.
