PL | EN

The troubles of small business in Japan and the UK

Due to the sharp decline in Japan’s birth rate and the ageing process of the population, the average age of Japanese business owners has increased to around 62 years old. Almost 60% of entrepreneurs have no plan for the future. An example is Hidekazu Yokoyama, owner of a logistics business on the island of Hokkaido. His children or employees had no intention of taking over the business, which was eventually given away for free. In 2019, Japan’s Ministry of Commerce predicted that by 2025, some 630,000 thriving businesses would go out of business, and 6.5 million jobs would disappear.

According to the UK  Retail Research Centre, 17,145 shops closed down across the country in 2022. This is an average of around 47 shops per day and almost 50% more than in 2021 when almost 11,500 premises of this type were closed. Roughly ⅓ of the shops went out of business, and the rest were closed down by a decision of the chain’s authorities as part of cost optimisation. As a result of these changes, more than 151,000 retail jobs disappeared last year, including online shops. This is by more than 45,000 jobs more than the year before.

London’s oldest Arabic bookshop closed on 31 December 2022 Al-Saqi Books has been operating since 1978 and has been a vital venue for Arabs residing in London. It provided a treasure trove of literary works for Arab emigrants living in the city and across Europe. The bookshop’s closure was decided by, among other factors, economic challenges caused by Brexit and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, high taxes, shipping costs and rising book prices.

Read also
Climate change and fishing, pastoralism and wine production
Climate change and fishing, pastoralism and wine production
The seaside village of Oostduinkerke in Belgium is the last place in the world where horseback fishing is practised. Fishermen catch shrimp by riding into the water on horses. The animals pull chains, causing vibrations along the sandy bottom, and shrimps jump into stretched nets. However, due to climate change, there are fewer and fewer […]
AGOA in Uganda, visa chaos in South Africa, and business development
AGOA in Uganda, visa chaos in South Africa, and business development
South Africa, where ⅓ of the population is unemployed, risks losing investment due to the “chaos” of the visa process and system failure. European companies warn about the lack of qualified employees, threatened development plans and the inability to create new jobs. In South Africa, there is a great need for, among others, engineers, scientists, […]
Sustainable construction of skyscrapers and the Bologna tower
Sustainable construction of skyscrapers and the Bologna tower
The Sara Cultural Center in Skellefteå, Sweden, is one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world and an experiment in sustainable architecture. The building is approximately 80 m high, has 20 floors and is made of wood from local forests. The project is “carbon negative” – 5,631 t of CO₂ generated during logging, transport […]
Can psychedelics treat PTSD and climate change anxiety?
Can psychedelics treat PTSD and climate change anxiety?
Previous research has already shown that psilocybin and MDMA (ecstasy) found in mushrooms are safe and effective for treating PTSD, depression and alcoholism. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved them. And can psychedelic therapy help with fear of climate change, i.e. ecological anxiety and climate sadness? They differ from […]
Israel – Palestine crisis and international reactions
Israel – Palestine crisis and international reactions
According to former Israeli Prime Minister Ja’ir Lapid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s support for Hamas is a “disgrace” to the country, and it will take a long time to improve Israeli-Turkish relations. Relations between these countries have never been stable as they competed for regional dominance. However, there was a significant rapprochement before the […]
Previous issues