1. Background and Current Situation of Inflation Countermeasures
The July 2025 issue of the Living Hygiene Newsletter features inflation countermeasures as a special topic following the continued inflation. As the second installment following the previous issue, detailed analysis is conducted on the impact of inflation on people's lives, particularly in living hygiene-related industries. Inflation is positioned not as a temporary phenomenon but as a structural challenge, with particular emphasis on the serious impact on small and medium-scale living hygiene-related businesses.
2. Specific Impacts on Living Hygiene-Related Industries
Industry-specific analysis is provided on inflation impacts across living hygiene-related sectors including hairdressing/beauty, dry cleaning, food service, and hospitality industries. Rising costs of raw materials, utilities, and labor are pressuring business management, with particularly notable deterioration in revenue structures among small-scale operators. Since these industries provide services closely related to citizens' daily lives, business difficulties directly affect the quality of life, positioning this as an important issue.
3. Role of Policy Finance and Support Measures
Detailed explanation is provided on support measures for living hygiene-related businesses by Japan Finance Corporation. Special loan systems and interest rate preferential measures have been established as inflation countermeasures, strengthening cash flow support for businesses. Additionally, comprehensive management support is being implemented through enhanced management guidance and consultation systems, going beyond mere funding provision.
4. Strengthened Countermeasures Through Cooperation with Industry Organizations
Cooperation with living hygiene trade unions and related organizations for strengthened countermeasures is discussed. To address industry-specific challenges, information provision through unions, training sessions, and joint project promotion are being implemented, addressing issues difficult for individual businesses to handle through industry-wide initiatives. This enables construction of efficient and effective support systems.
5. Consumer Impact and Service Quality Maintenance
Analysis is provided on how business management deterioration due to inflation ultimately affects consumer service quality and pricing. The importance of businesses maintaining service quality while implementing appropriate pricing is examined, emphasizing the need to balance consumer understanding promotion with business management stabilization.
6. Regional Economic Ripple Effects
It's noted that living hygiene-related business management conditions significantly impact the overall regional economy. Particularly in rural areas, these businesses are important sources of regional employment, with their management stabilization directly connected to regional economic revitalization. The importance of regionally-rooted service providers is discussed in detail.
7. Efficiency Through Digitalization and DX Promotion
As part of inflation countermeasures, the importance of efficiency through digitalization and DX (Digital Transformation) promotion is highlighted. Even in living hygiene-related industries, productivity improvement, cost reduction, and development of new service delivery methods through ICT utilization are required, with policy finance technology introduction support initiatives being introduced.
8. Challenges and Countermeasures in Human Resource Securing and Development
Detailed analysis is provided on labor shortage issues that have intensified alongside inflation. Living hygiene-related industries face structural problems where chronic labor shortages combined with wage increase pressures further compress management. Specific proposals are made for human resource securing and development, work style reform promotion, and workplace environment improvement to enhance industry attractiveness.
9. Initiatives Toward Sustainable Business Management
Examination extends beyond short-term inflation countermeasures to consider sustainable business management from medium- to long-term perspectives. The importance of ESG management incorporating environmental consideration, social responsibility fulfillment, and governance system strengthening is emphasized, with policy finance's role in supporting these initiatives also mentioned.
10. Future Policy Direction and Prospects
As inflation countermeasures (2), future policy development directions and challenges are summarized. The importance of continuous monitoring system construction, support measure effectiveness verification, and flexible response to new challenges is noted. The need for continued and strengthened policy initiatives to simultaneously achieve improved quality of life for citizens and regional economic revitalization through healthy development of living hygiene-related industries is discussed in detail, clearly indicating the role and responsibility of policy financial institutions.