Cosmopolitan Rurality, Depopulation, and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in 21st-Century Japan By John Traphagan

Cosmopolitan Rurality, Depopulation, and Entrepreneurial Ecosyste ...

Chapter 1:

The Narrow Expressway to Oku

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women. This possibility is supported in my own research, where micro-businesses often employ women part-time with very flexible hours and (as will become evident in the case of Kanegasaki Creamery in chapter 5) some female business owners prefer to hire female employees.

Understanding the political climate that shapes the creation of small businesses and influences the nature of entrepreneurialism is an important element in thinking about the creation of entrepreneurial ecosystems and the expression of identity among entrepreneurs. In 2014, the Japanese government promulgated The Basic Act for Promoting Small Enterprises, which presents four measures aimed at promoting the growth of small businesses and has influenced individuals at the local level interested in entrepreneurialism. Article 6 of the act spells out the basic policies/priorities the government established for small businesses as follows:⁴⁸

Promoting business management that should be implemented for future demand: Creating and discovering demand for micro businesses by more proactively taking advantage of their conventional face-to-face relationships with customers.

Promoting business renovation: Developing and creating businesses by providing diverse and new human resources with opportunities for success in the workplace.

Facilitating business activities contributing to regional economies: Increasing the public awareness of certain regions to create brands so as to invigorate regional economies.

Developing a system for supporting micro-businesses through region-wide collective efforts: Providing detailed measures to address challenges that business operators are facing in running their businesses.

The plan prioritizes providing support for and promotion of the creation of business startups that will have spillover effects on local communities, which is tied to taking advantage of local/regional characteristics and is intended to play a role in stabilizing regional economies. There is also an important component of the Act that emphasizes building sustainable business, rather than specifically focusing on growth of SMEs, although