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Japan's aging population is changing the diaper business

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Reuters

Adult diaper production line manager Naoto Sugaya&quot;The part around the legs is very tight fitting. When you put them on it fits very closely to that area so you can use them without any worry.&quot;&quot;The number of diapers we&#x27;re producing is increasing year by year thanks to the growing market for adult diapers in Japan. We&#x27;re also producing a wide variety of diapers on account of the growing number of customers.&quot;Kenji Nakata, general manager of DAIO Paper Healthcare marketing department&quot;We did a survey (of our customers). &#x27;Wow,&#x27; they said, &#x27;If they&#x27;re like this, I&#x27;d buy them, they wouldn&#x27;t be embarrassing to bring home. If I wore these pants I could do my hobbies, go fishing, play golf, go shopping in Ginza.&#x27;&quot;&quot;The adult market is by far the larger. Roughly speaking, the adult diaper market is about twice that of babies, that&#x27;s how it&#x27;s become.&quot;&quot;We can expect the market for adult diapers to continue to grow, and therefore we are devoting our company&#x27;s resources to that market with a view to expanding these products.&quot;More companies in Japan are moving from producing diapers for babies and switching to adult customers, a move in line with the country’s declining birth rate and ageing population.The number of babies born in Japan fell for an eighth straight year to a fresh record low in 2023, government data showed in June.The country is also the world&#x27;s most advanced ageing society. Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations, with 29% of its total population over the age of 65 in 2023, according to global data and business intelligence platform Statista.At a facility run by Daio Paper in the Fujinomiya region, near the tourist landmark of Mount Fuji, factory overseer Naoto Sugaya said output has grown year on year, “thanks to the growing market for adult diapers in Japan”.“We’re also producing a wide variety of diapers on account of the growing number of customers,&quot; he said.As Japan&#x27;s population ages, the company, which says revenue from adult diaper sales is already double that of those meant for babies, is pouring more resources into the growing new market.   Apart from their size, diapers for adults have key differences, since customers are more discerning than the average baby, and rely on them in a wider range of situations, said Daio Paper marketing manager Kenji Nakata.Survey results showed potential buyers found the company&#x27;s products useful, he said.  &quot;&#x27;Wow,&#x27; they said, &#x27;If they&#x27;re like this, I&#x27;d buy them, they wouldn&#x27;t be embarrassing to bring home,&#x27;&quot; Nakata added. &quot;If I wore these pants I could do my hobbies, go fishing, play golf, go shopping in Ginza.&#x27;&quot;.Daio Paper has no plans to stop making nappies for babies, Nakata said, but the future of the business was clear.&quot;We can expect the market for adult diapers to continue to grow, and therefore we are devoting our company&#x27;s resources to that market with a view to expanding these products.&quot;Over the five years to 2027, Japan&#x27;s diaper market for adults is set to grow 16% to 98.9 billion yen ($612 million), while that for babies is estimated to contract 8% to 84.6 billion yen, according to research firm Fuji Keizai.

More companies in Japan are moving from producing diapers for babies and switching to adult customers, a move in line with the country’s declining birth rate and ageing population.

More companies in Japan are moving from producing diapers for babies and switching to adult customers, a move in line with the country’s declining birth rate and ageing population.