Takaichi Attends SME Association’s 70th Anniversary Celebration
Overview
On October 29, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended a celebration in Tokyo marking the 70th anniversary of the National Federation of Small Business Associations and delivered remarks. She said small and medium-sized enterprises had faced a difficult business environment for more than 10 years, including natural disasters, the spread of COVID-19, and rising prices. She praised the federation for encouraging broad collaboration, supporting cooperative activities, and contributing to growth, development, and improved economic standing. She outlined a policy to draw domestic investment through the Japan Growth Strategy and Regional Future Strategy, create a virtuous cycle as GDP expands, and support small and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale businesses.
Key points
- Set out a policy to attract domestic investment and create a virtuous cycle as GDP expands.
- Said support would be provided to small and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale businesses through price pass-through and fair transactions, productivity gains, and business succession.
- Said the federation had supported collaboration among small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperative activities, contributing to growth, development, and improved economic standing.
Overview
On October 29, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended and addressed a celebration in Tokyo marking the 70th anniversary of the National Federation of Small Business Associations. She paid tribute to the federation’s long-standing efforts to encourage broad collaboration among small and medium-sized enterprises and support the activities of their cooperatives.
The prime minister said small and medium-sized enterprises had faced a difficult business environment for more than 10 years, including successive natural disasters, the spread of COVID-19, and rising prices.
Impact
She expressed concern that if Japan stagnated in industrial policy, jobs, investment, and businesses could flow overseas, potentially returning the country to an era of stagnation. She said the government would raise potential growth through domestic investment and create a virtuous cycle by improving the quality of jobs and incomes, consumer sentiment, and business earnings, leading to organic growth in tax revenue.
Details
The Takaichi Cabinet plans to use the Japan Growth Strategy and Regional Future Strategy as its two pillars to attract domestic investment under “responsible proactive fiscal policy.” It identified cross-cutting issues for the Japan Growth Strategy: price pass-through and fair transactions, including public procurement; stronger support for growth-oriented businesses and productivity improvements; promotion of mergers and acquisitions, business succession, and business restructuring; and stronger hands-on support systems. It said it would advance support for small and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale businesses.