Cabinet Decision on the 2024 White Papers on Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Enterprises

1. Characteristics of the 2024 White Papers on Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Enterprises

The 2024 White Papers analyze not only the current situation of SMEs and small businesses, and the challenges confronting these companies, but also, as future perspectives, efforts that SMEs should take to overcome changes in environments, secure management resources, and leverage the resources to promote productivity; investment activities that may contribute to growth and the raising of funds for such activities; efforts that small businesses should take to secure sales and sustainably develop business going forward as well; efforts to secure funds and human resources that are indispensable for business continuation; and the enhancement of support organizations’ roles and systems.

2. Key points in the reports

Trends among SMEs and small businesses

As one of the challenges confronting companies, the reports point out that companies have been experiencing a severer labor shortage backed by sales recovery from the decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a future perspective, the reports expect SMEs to promote productivity by labor-saving investment　 and raising unit prices so that Japan can maintain its international competitiveness in the midst of the unlikelihood of an increase in the number of employees.

2024 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan

The report analyzes the actions that growing SMEs take and shows the finding that investment activities are effective for corporate growth, including investments in human resources, business investments, M&A, and investments in research and development. In addition, it points out that companies need to study means to raise funds in accordance with growth investments.

2024 White Paper on Small Enterprises in Japan

The report expects that, under management environments severer than SMEs, small businesses can increase sales by taking on appropriate price setting based on ascertained costs and working to establish clear customer targets, and it also explains that the utilization of support organizations is also effective in improving sales. In addition, it shows the expectation that new entries that play leading roles will be effective in improving labor productivity.

Related Material

• Overview of the 2024 White Papers on Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Enterprises (in Japanese)(PDF:3,867KB)

Related Links (in Japanese)

• The 2024 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan
• The 2024 White Paper on Small Enterprises in Japan
• White papers and statistics

Division in Charge

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