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The 163rd Survey of SME Business Conditions (January-March 2021) Released

Japanese

March 30, 2021

SME & Regional Economic Policy

The Survey of SME Business Conditions is a quarterly survey conducted by the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation (hereinafter “the Organization”), targeting about 19,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Japan in cooperation with business management advisors from commercial and industrial associations and chambers of commerce and industry, and researchers from the National Federation of Small Business Associations.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (SMEA) and the Organization jointly compiled the business achievements (diffusion indices, or DIs) of SMEs for the January-March 2021 period and the forecasts (DIs) for the April-June 2021 period concerning SME business conditions, sales amounts, ordinary profits, and other data.

Key point in the survey results

The business conditions DI for SMEs decreased for the first time in three quarters.

For details, see the Appendix. The following are excerpts.

Nationwide business conditions

  1. From January to March 2021, the business conditions DI for all industries was -29.5 (down by 3.4 points from the previous quarter), showing a decrease for the first time in three quarters.

  2. The business conditions DI for the manufacturing sector was -25.0 (up by 4.2 points from the previous quarter), showing an increase for three consecutive quarters. Looking at the business conditions DI of each industry, improvements were seen in 12 industries, including steels/non-ferrous metals, machinery and appliances, and metal products, while the DIs for two industries, namely, food products and wood/wooden products, decreased.

  3. The business conditions DI for the non-manufacturing sector was -31.2 (down by 5.8 points from the previous quarter), showing a decrease for the first time in three quarters. Looking at the business conditions DI of each industry, the DIs increased in the construction industry, and decreased in the services, wholesale, and retail trade industries.

  4. The DI measuring long-term financing difficulty was -2.9 (down by 0.7 points from the previous quarter), showing a decrease for two consecutive quarters, and the DI measuring short-term financing difficulty was -2.5 (down by 0.6 points from the previous quarter), showing a decrease for the first time in three quarters.

Region-based business conditions

  1. The business conditions DI for all industries by region decreased in all regions across Japan, namely the Kyushu/Okinawa, Chubu, Kanto, Chugoku, Tohoku, Kinki, Hokkaido and Shikoku regions.

  2. The business conditions DI for the manufacturing sector by region increased in the Kanto, Shikoku, Kyushu/Okinawa, Kinki, Chubu, Hokkaido regions, and decreased in the Chugoku and Tohoku regions.

  3. The business conditions DI for the non-manufacturing sector by region decreased in all regions across Japan.

Related material

Division in Charge

Research Office, Business Environment Department, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency

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