Japan to stop making babies diapers

The birth rate in Japan is falling at an alarming rate. On the other hand, the number of elderly people is increasing. Last year, for the first time in Japan, the number of people over 80 exceeded 10 percent of the total population.

In such a situation, one of the Japanese companies has announced to stop making diapers for children and make diapers for adults. The decision was taken by OG Napia, a subsidiary of multinational industrial group OG Holdings.

Earlier, some other companies in Japan had announced such a decision. This is due to Japan's rapidly increasing population of elderly people and declining birth rates.

For more than a decade, sales of diapers made for adults have grown more than four children in Japan.

The number of children born in Japan in 2023 is 758,631, which is 5.1 percent less than the previous year. This is the lowest birth rate recorded in Japan since the 19th century. In the 1970s, this number stood at more than 2 million.

In a statement, OG Holdings said its subsidiary OG Nepia currently produces 400 million baby diapers a year. Production has declined since 2001. At that time, the company was producing 70 crore diapers.

In 2011, Unicharm, Japan's largest diaper manufacturer, reported that sales of its adult diapers surpassed those of children's diapers.

The adult diaper market in Japan is growing steadily and is now worth more than $2 billion. Japan has perhaps of the biggest older populace on the planet. 30 percent of the country's total population is 65 years or older. Last year, the rate of over-80s exceeded 10 percent for the first time.

OG Holdings said it will continue to manufacture baby diapers in Malaysia and Indonesia. They expect that the demand for these diapers will increase there.

Source: BBC, South China Morning Post