In a rapidly aging society, many elderly business owners are worried about finding successors, whether family members or young entrepreneurs. This successor shortage (後継者不足; koukeisha fuzoku) has plagued many family-owned and small businesses in Japan. We’ve discussed this topic a little in our coverage of the 7-11 franchisee who was almost sued by 7-11 corporate when he tried to shorten his store’s hours.
But nowhere is the successor issue more striking than in ramen shops. The owners of reputable ramen shops are aging – and they’re not having luck finding successors to take over.
Ueda Misae (上田みさえ), proprietor of Noodle House Ueda (麺家 うえだ), is one such person. Ms. Ueda began her ramen shop proprietor career at the age of 56. At the age of 76, after suffering from age-related health issues over the last couple years, she decided to close down her shop rather than train new employees to keep it open. Fortunately, another ramen shop was eager to help preserve her signature ramen, so she spent several months training the staff and ensuring her recipe would be in good hands.
While Ueda was able to pass on her recipe, other ramen shop owners haven’t been as lucky. According to a 2016 survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (厚生労働省; こうせいろうどうしょう; kouseiroudoushou), roughly 30.6% of shopkeepers are aged 60 — 69 years old. The next highest demographic is 50 — 59 year olds at 29.8%. Participants were also asked if they had a successor (後継者; koukeisha) in place to take over; an overwhelming 69.1% responded that they did not.
In Tokyo’s Waseda ward, ramen shops have been forced to shutter their doors in rapid succession. Some had been operating since the 60s and 70s by entrepreneurs riding the postwar economic wave. Yet new ramen shops are opening as fast as the old reputable shops are closing down. Between April 2013 and March 2018, 22 different ramen shops opened in the vicinity of Waseda Station.
Famous ramen critic Yamaji Rikiya (山路力也) extrapolated that one cause for these closures is the degradation of the “family business” concept in modern society. Another cause is the change in customer demographics — fewer students are venturing to old haunts, and they’re being replaced by salarymen and elderly customers.
Efforts have begun to help these businesses struggling to find successors. The Business Transfer Support Center (事業引継ぎ支援センター; Jigyō Hikitsugi Shien Sentā) offers free consultations for businesses without successors, as well as paid services to help connected business owners with eager entrepreneurs. Others are relying on third parties to take over the businesses in cases where family members or employees aren’t willing or able to take over.
Despite these multiple avenues of assistance, Ueda Misae is, so far, one of the few success stories.
