Nice radio segment this morning, July 26, on National Public Radio (link to audio and transcript, below) from Kanazawa, home of feudal giant and lord of the Kaga clan.
One of the aging craftsmen says only about 20 of the former 300 small makers continue to produce the thin sheets of gold. The report goes on to say 97% of the nation's economic activity is from small and medium-sized companies. With a country-wide loss of children who take over the family business, the whole economy is heading for trouble.
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In Japan, decades of declining birthrates have put tens of thousands of family-owned businesses in crisis. Many have to shut down because there's no one to take over from the aging owners. Now the government there is trying to reverse the trend. NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam reports from Kanazawa, Japan.
