In what is seen as a reflection of Japan’s rapidly ageing population, a nappy manufacturer in the East Asian state is to stop making the products for babies and instead focus on adult diapers instead.
The Guardian reports that Oji Holdings, which specialises in paper products, said it would stop making children’s nappies in September amid a sharp decline in demand. The firm has seen sales drop from a peak of about 700m in 2001 to 400m today.
Sales of adult diapers have outpaced those of nappies in Japan for well over a decade, and recent population statistics indicate that the trend will continue.
The BBC reports that Oji Holdings said its subsidiary, Oji Nepia, currently manufactures 400 million infant nappies annually. Production has been falling since 2001, when the company hit its peak of 700 million nappies.
Back in 2011, Japan’s biggest diaper maker, Unicharm, said its sales of adult diapers had surpassed those for babies.
According to The Guardian, the number of births in Japan fell to an all-time low of 758 631 in 2023, compared with 1 590 503 deaths. Children under 15 accounted for less than 12% percent of the country’s population in 2022, the public broadcaster NHK said, while those aged 65 and over made up almost 30%.
The population is expected to plummet from its current 125 million to an estimated 88 million in 2065 – a 30% decline in 45 years.
[Image: Sara Tissi from Pixabay]