Japan: number of SMEs by industry| ��ƽ��

Number of private small and medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) operating in Japan in 2021, by industry (in 1,000s)

Characteristic	Number of enterprises in thousands
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Release date

April 2026

More information

Region

Japan

Survey time period

2021

Special properties

including companies and solo proprietorships in non-primary industries; excluding corporate bodies other than companies

Supplementary notes

*Mining and quarrying of stone and gravel, compound services, and services not elsewhere classified such as waste disposal businesses, automobile maintenance services, employment and working dispatching services, political, business, and cultural organizations, etc.

Definition of SMEs by industry:
Manufacturing, construction, and transportation, as well as other industries not mentioned below: companies whose capital does not exceed 300 million JPY, or a company or an individual whose regular workforce does not exceed 300 people.
Wholesale trade: companies whose capital does not exceed 100 million JPY, or a company or an individual whose regular workforce does not exceed 100 people.
Service: companies whose capital does not exceed 50 million JPY, or a company or an individual whose regular workforce does not exceed 100 people.
Retail trade: companies whose capital does not exceed 50 million JPY, or a company or an individual whose regular workforce does not exceed 50 people.

Figures have been rounded.

Citation formats

In 2021, over ** small to medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) were operating in the retail trade industry in Japan. That year, there were a total of around *** million private small and medium-sized business enterprises in the country, of which almost ** percent were small enterprises.

SMEs as the backbone of Japan’s economy

Japan has been traditionally centered around economically powerful large corporations, but major global players such as Toyota only make up a minor share of corporations in Japan. SMEs account for **** percent of private business enterprises, forming the backbone of the country’s economy. With **** million employees, they were responsible for close to ** percent of employment in the country.

Sales development of SMEs

The average sale per company among Japanese SMEs amounted to million yen in the fiscal year 2022, up by **** percent compared to the previous year. The wholesale trade industry generated the highest sales per SME, and wholesale trade and manufacturing accounted for roughly ** percent of total sales generated by SMEs. In the months prior to early 2025, SMEs overall reported a negative sentiment in a survey on business conditions.